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: shower · mouse · tube · field · lie · spring · wound · press

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Did you ________________ the button?
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. wound — an injury
  4. lie — to recline
  5. shower — rain
  6. press — to push
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. shower — to wash
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. field — farmland
  12. spring — the season
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. tube — a container
  16. spring — of water
  17. press — newspapers
  18. tube — the underground
  19. wound — an injury
  20. field — for sport
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. spring — a coil
  23. press — a publisher
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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