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. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. branch — a division
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. hand — help
  7. board — a committee
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. press — to push
  10. game — a match
  11. wind — moving air
  12. mine — for digging
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. wind — moving air
  15. press — a publisher
  16. board — to get on
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. hand — in cards
  20. game — wild animals
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. press — newspapers

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