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. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. cold — an illness
  3. press — a publisher
  4. fall — the season
  5. march — the month
  6. stock — goods
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. press — to push
  12. march — music
  13. present — the time now
  14. stock — shares
  15. present — there
  16. cold — not warm
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. present — a gift
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. fall — to drop
  21. fan — a supporter
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. march — the month
  24. press — newspapers

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