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 covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — the earth
  2. press — to push
  3. ground — crushed
  4. current — electric
  5. current — of water
  6. court — of a king
  7. tear — to rip
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — from crying
  10. court — for sport
  11. press — newspapers
  12. scale — size or range
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. current — happening now
  15. scale — in music
  16. press — a publisher
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. court — of law
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. ground — a position

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