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: degree · wake · press · court · nail · spell · land · branch

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  8. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  20. How do you ________________ your surname?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. court — for sport
  4. land — ground
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. land — a country
  7. branch — of a tree
  8. press — a publisher
  9. spell — magic
  10. press — newspapers
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. spell — a short time
  13. branch — a division
  14. land — to come down
  15. court — of a king
  16. press — to push
  17. degree — an amount
  18. wake — a trail
  19. degree — from a university
  20. spell — letters
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. court — of law
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. degree — temperature

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