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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. A black ________________ roamed the forest.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. fall — to drop
  3. kid — child
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. mine — for digging
  6. fall — the season
  7. degree — from a university
  8. kid — to tease
  9. degree — an amount
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — money
  13. bear — the animal
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. fall — to drop
  16. press — newspapers
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. degree — temperature
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. press — a publisher
  21. press — to push
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. bear — the animal

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