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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. race — a contest
  3. press — a publisher
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. club — for dancing
  7. race — the arms race
  8. press — newspapers
  9. staff — employees
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. race — humankind
  12. staff — employees
  13. cold — not warm
  14. degree — an amount
  15. club — for golf
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. press — to push
  18. club — a group
  19. cold — an illness
  20. degree — from a university
  21. row — to paddle
  22. degree — temperature
  23. row — a line
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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