ClueBy
TodayArchiveWord list

Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
YesNo
↻ New worksheet

Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cabinet · court · last · mouse · degree · racket · press · clip

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. What do you think of the new ________________?
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. cabinet — ministers
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. last — to go on
  5. degree — an amount
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. clip — a video
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. court — of a king
  10. press — a publisher
  11. degree — temperature
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. last — finally
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. court — of law
  16. court — for sport
  17. press — newspapers
  18. last — final
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. degree — from a university
  21. clip — for paper
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. clip — to cut
  24. mouse — the animal

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com