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

  1. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. trunk — of a car
  2. degree — temperature
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. press — a publisher
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. hand — help
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. chip — to eat
  15. degree — from a university
  16. mine — for digging
  17. degree — an amount
  18. press — to push
  19. bark — to shout
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. chip — for betting
  22. hand — in cards
  23. press — newspapers
  24. chip — in a computer

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