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. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. press — a publisher
  2. degree — temperature
  3. cold — an illness
  4. degree — an amount
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. row — a line
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. tear — from crying
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. tear — from crying
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. press — newspapers
  16. chest — of your body
  17. row — to paddle
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. cold — not warm
  20. kick — in football
  21. press — to push
  22. degree — from a university
  23. tear — to rip
  24. kick — a thrill

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