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 seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Did you ________________ the button?
  16. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — to cut
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. mate — to breed
  4. rash — a series
  5. plane — a tool
  6. clip — a video
  7. clip — for paper
  8. rash — hasty
  9. wind — moving air
  10. mate — a partner
  11. wind — moving air
  12. press — newspapers
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. degree — an amount
  15. press — to push
  16. mate — a friend
  17. press — a publisher
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. degree — from a university
  23. degree — temperature
  24. dip — to sink

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