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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. cell — a phone
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. pop — soda
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. pop — music
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. fork — in a road
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. fork — a garden tool
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. net — in sport
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. net — for catching
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. cell — in biology
  20. pitch — completely
  21. degree — temperature
  22. pop — to visit
  23. degree — from a university
  24. degree — an amount

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