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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: straw · mine · court · degree · staff · cabinet · face · press

  1. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. face — to confront
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. staff — employees
  6. degree — temperature
  7. face — to point toward
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. staff — a stick
  10. press — to push
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. court — of law
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. mine — for digging
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. degree — from a university
  18. face — part of the head
  19. court — for sport
  20. press — a publisher
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. press — newspapers
  23. degree — an amount
  24. staff — employees

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