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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. degree — from a university
  3. last — to go on
  4. bank — for money
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. press — newspapers
  7. ball — a great time
  8. hand — help
  9. degree — an amount
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. pound — a weight
  13. press — to push
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. degree — temperature
  16. ball — a dance
  17. snap — to click
  18. hand — in cards
  19. last — finally
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. press — a publisher
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bank — of a river
  24. bank — for money

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