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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  20. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. mate — a partner
  3. capital — money
  4. mate — a friend
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. spell — magic
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — a coil
  11. press — to push
  12. press — a publisher
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. capital — a city
  16. spell — a short time
  17. mate — to breed
  18. spell — letters
  19. dip — a sauce
  20. press — newspapers
  21. dip — to sink
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. sharp — clever

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