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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. capital — money
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. wound — an injury
  5. degree — an amount
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. mark — a grade
  9. capital — a city
  10. mark — a trace
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. press — to push
  13. stock — goods
  14. degree — temperature
  15. stock — shares
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. row — a line
  18. degree — from a university
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. leaves — to go away
  21. row — to paddle
  22. press — newspapers
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. press — a publisher

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