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: net · saw · board · chair · row · degree · capital · press

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. chair — a leader
  3. capital — money
  4. degree — from a university
  5. row — to paddle
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. board — to get on
  8. net — for catching
  9. capital — a city
  10. press — newspapers
  11. board — a committee
  12. row — a line
  13. net — in sport
  14. degree — temperature
  15. saw — the tool
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. press — a publisher
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. press — to push
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. saw — the tool
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. net — after costs

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