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: hide · degree · press · club · swing · deal · craft · tear

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. press — a publisher
  3. degree — an amount
  4. craft — boats
  5. tear — from crying
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. degree — from a university
  8. tear — from crying
  9. craft — a skill
  10. club — a group
  11. craft — a handicraft
  12. swing — music
  13. swing — to play on
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. deal — to handle
  17. tear — to rip
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. degree — temperature
  20. swing — in golf
  21. press — to push
  22. club — for dancing
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. press — newspapers

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