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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. rest — a break
  3. rule — government
  4. capital — a city
  5. net — for catching
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. mine — for digging
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. rule — a law
  15. fork — in a road
  16. rest — what's left
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. capital — money
  22. deal — to handle
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. net — in sport

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