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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. cold — not warm
  4. current — of water
  5. snap — to click
  6. net — in sport
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. race — a contest
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cap — a hat
  12. cap — a lid
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. current — electric
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. race — humankind
  19. race — the arms race
  20. wake — a trail
  21. current — happening now
  22. cap — of ice
  23. net — for catching
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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