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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. press — a publisher
  3. file — a line of people
  4. degree — an amount
  5. mark — a grade
  6. degree — from a university
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. net — for catching
  9. land — a country
  10. press — newspapers
  11. land — to come down
  12. press — to push
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. file — a tool
  15. file — a document
  16. branch — a division
  17. net — in sport
  18. snap — to click
  19. land — ground
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. degree — temperature
  24. mark — a trace

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