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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. This piece is in a major ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He was locked up in a ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. cell — in biology
  4. key — in music
  5. key — the most important part
  6. press — a publisher
  7. press — to push
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. key — for a lock
  10. wind — moving air
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. rash — a series
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. wind — moving air
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. hand — in cards
  18. cell — in a prison
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. cell — a phone
  21. sharp — clever
  22. press — newspapers
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. rash — hasty

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