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 120 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. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  19. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  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. spell — magic
  2. press — to push
  3. spell — letters
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. rush — hurry
  6. stock — shares
  7. degree — from a university
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stock — goods
  10. degree — temperature
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — obliged
  13. degree — an amount
  14. press — newspapers
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. object — to protest
  17. spell — a short time
  18. object — a thing
  19. object — an aim
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. bound — tied together
  22. bat — the animal
  23. bat — for baseball
  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