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: land · key · sharp · court · plane · wind · press · row

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The ________________ took off on time.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. wind — moving air
  3. land — a country
  4. plane — an aircraft
  5. sharp — clever
  6. land — ground
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. row — to paddle
  9. plane — a tool
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. press — a publisher
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. key — for a lock
  15. court — for sport
  16. court — of law
  17. land — to come down
  18. row — a line
  19. key — the most important part
  20. key — in music
  21. press — newspapers
  22. wind — moving air
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. court — of a king

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