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. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. content — the amount
  3. press — newspapers
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. net — after costs
  6. degree — from a university
  7. press — a publisher
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. degree — an amount
  11. stock — shares
  12. content — happy
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stock — goods
  15. degree — temperature
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. net — for catching
  18. pound — for dogs
  19. craft — boats
  20. craft — a skill
  21. pound — a weight
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. net — in sport
  24. content — videos and posts

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