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. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — to turn a key
  2. capital — money
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. degree — from a university
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. capital — a city
  7. hand — help
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. net — for catching
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. wind — moving air
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. wind — moving air
  17. hand — in cards
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. chair — a leader
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. net — in sport
  22. degree — temperature
  23. net — after costs
  24. degree — an amount

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