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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. net — for catching
  3. rash — a series
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bass — the fish
  6. net — after costs
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. vault — a safe
  9. bass — low music
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. rash — hasty
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. degree — from a university
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. game — wild animals
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. net — in sport
  18. game — a match
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. degree — temperature
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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