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. The ________________ went through the wall.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. press — a publisher
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. cold — an illness
  8. press — to push
  9. plane — a tool
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. wind — moving air
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. spring — of water
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. spring — the season
  18. wind — moving air
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. spring — a coil
  21. cold — not warm
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. snap — to click
  24. press — newspapers

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