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

Word bank: spring · cold · press · fork · mug · degree · prune · wake

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Did you ________________ the button?
  23. Where did you ________________ them?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. mug — a face
  3. fork — in a road
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. fork — a garden tool
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. prune — to trim
  8. degree — temperature
  9. mug — a cup
  10. press — newspapers
  11. wake — a trail
  12. press — a publisher
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. spring — of water
  17. degree — an amount
  18. degree — from a university
  19. prune — to trim
  20. spring — a coil
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. press — to push
  23. mug — to rob
  24. cold — an illness

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