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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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. wind — to turn a key
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. ball — a dance
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. land — a country
  7. wind — moving air
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. land — ground
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. ball — a great time
  14. bark — to shout
  15. press — a publisher
  16. snap — to click
  17. wind — moving air
  18. land — to come down
  19. bowl — to roll
  20. press — newspapers
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. press — to push
  24. file — a document

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