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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The ________________ went through the wall.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. press — to push
  3. spell — magic
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. stand — to bear
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. sharp — clever
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. press — newspapers
  13. wound — an injury
  14. spell — a short time
  15. spring — a coil
  16. press — a publisher
  17. row — a line
  18. spring — of water
  19. spell — letters
  20. spring — the season
  21. wound — an injury
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. row — to paddle
  24. sharp — with an edge

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