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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bound — certain
  6. press — a publisher
  7. capital — a city
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. band — a music group
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. band — a ring
  12. bound — tied together
  13. bound — obliged
  14. ground — crushed
  15. bark — to shout
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. capital — money
  18. ground — the earth
  19. press — newspapers
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. spring — the season
  23. ground — a position
  24. temple — a place of worship

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