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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. ground — a position
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. prune — to trim
  5. spring — a coil
  6. sharp — clever
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. ground — the earth
  9. press — to push
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. cold — not warm
  12. cold — an illness
  13. press — newspapers
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. ground — crushed
  18. spring — the season
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mark — a trace
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. spring — of water
  24. mark — a grade

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