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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  7. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  8. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. net — after costs
  3. press — a publisher
  4. capital — a city
  5. net — for catching
  6. press — newspapers
  7. temple — side of the head
  8. staff — a stick
  9. fork — in a road
  10. root — of a plant
  11. root — the cause
  12. press — to push
  13. capital — money
  14. staff — employees
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. staff — employees
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. kid — to tease
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. net — in sport
  24. root — of a word

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