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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. My father caught me by the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. spring — the season
  3. tear — from crying
  4. press — a publisher
  5. press — newspapers
  6. cold — an illness
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. press — to push
  9. bound — tied together
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bound — certain
  12. bound — obliged
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. wax — to grow
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. snap — to click
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. spring — of water
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. spring — a coil
  23. tear — from crying
  24. arm — a part of something

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