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: lean · bulb · cell · stock · game · press · chair · degree

  1. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. Did you ________________ the button?
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — temperature
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. bulb — of a plant
  4. press — a publisher
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. cell — in biology
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. degree — from a university
  10. game — a match
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. game — wild animals
  13. stock — shares
  14. stock — goods
  15. chair — a leader
  16. bulb — for light
  17. lean — thin
  18. cell — a phone
  19. press — to push
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. press — newspapers
  22. lean — to bend
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bulb — for light

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