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 116 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. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  18. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — employees
  2. press — to push
  3. ball — a dance
  4. pass — to succeed
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. land — ground
  7. wake — a trail
  8. staff — a stick
  9. land — a country
  10. wind — moving air
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. press — newspapers
  15. wake — before a funeral
  16. staff — employees
  17. pass — a permit
  18. ball — a great time
  19. file — a tool
  20. land — to come down
  21. press — a publisher
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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