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. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a part of the sea
  2. spell — letters
  3. snap — to click
  4. field — for sport
  5. field — a subject
  6. clip — to cut
  7. field — farmland
  8. press — newspapers
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. press — a publisher
  11. capital — a city
  12. clip — for paper
  13. press — to push
  14. capital — money
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. board — a flat piece
  17. spell — a short time
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. board — a committee
  20. clip — a video
  21. spell — magic
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. board — to get on
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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