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 ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. ground — a position
  3. wind — moving air
  4. last — to go on
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. last — finally
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. ground — crushed
  9. last — final
  10. ground — the earth
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. press — a publisher
  13. spring — the season
  14. press — to push
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. stock — shares
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. spring — of water
  21. stock — goods
  22. press — newspapers
  23. wind — moving air
  24. spring — a coil

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