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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. net — in sport
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. mine — for digging
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. game — a match
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. net — after costs
  16. ball — a dance
  17. root — of a plant
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. root — the cause
  20. ball — a great time
  21. net — for catching
  22. kick — in football
  23. root — of a word
  24. game — wild animals

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