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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — money
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. net — for catching
  4. net — after costs
  5. press — to push
  6. degree — from a university
  7. press — newspapers
  8. degree — temperature
  9. object — an aim
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. capital — a city
  12. press — a publisher
  13. pitch — completely
  14. net — in sport
  15. object — a thing
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. degree — an amount
  18. object — to protest

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