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 · bear · press · straw · jam · mouse · pound · cold

  1. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — to hit hard
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. jam — to spread on bread
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. shower — to wash
  6. cold — an illness
  7. bear — the animal
  8. shower — rain
  9. jam — in traffic
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. pound — a weight
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. bear — the animal
  15. press — to push
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. bear — to put up with
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. press — newspapers
  24. press — a publisher

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