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

  1. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. net — for catching
  3. game — wild animals
  4. wound — an injury
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. net — after costs
  7. wound — an injury
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. jam — a tight spot
  15. net — in sport
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. game — a match
  19. kid — child
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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