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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. saw — the tool
  5. shower — to wash
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. board — to get on
  8. saw — the tool
  9. press — to push
  10. cold — an illness
  11. press — newspapers
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. chip — in a computer
  14. shower — rain
  15. capital — a city
  16. press — a publisher
  17. chip — to eat
  18. mine — for digging
  19. capital — money
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chip — for betting
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. board — a committee

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