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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ went through the wall.
  10. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. net — in sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. net — after costs
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. degree — an amount
  8. mark — a trace
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. mark — to pay attention
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. degree — from a university
  13. mark — a grade
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. hand — in cards
  16. row — a line
  17. degree — temperature
  18. row — to paddle

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