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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. cold — an illness
  3. degree — an amount
  4. press — a publisher
  5. can — a tin
  6. drill — the tool
  7. degree — temperature
  8. can — a tin
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. cold — not warm
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. drill — a practice
  14. drill — army training
  15. can — to be able to
  16. press — to push
  17. swing — in golf
  18. degree — from a university
  19. dip — to sink
  20. swing — music
  21. press — newspapers
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. swing — to play on

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