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: game · fall · degree · press · march · rest · lie · kick

  1. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  18. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. press — to push
  4. degree — from a university
  5. game — a match
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. march — the month
  9. game — wild animals
  10. rest — what's left
  11. march — the month
  12. degree — an amount
  13. fall — to drop
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. rest — a break
  16. rest — what's left
  17. lie — to recline
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. press — newspapers
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. press — a publisher
  22. degree — temperature
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. march — music

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