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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fork — in a road
  4. ground — a position
  5. wind — moving air
  6. perch — the fish
  7. current — of water
  8. snap — to click
  9. land — ground
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. land — to come down
  15. ground — the earth
  16. snap — to snap out of it
  17. ground — crushed
  18. net — in sport
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. land — a country
  21. net — for catching
  22. current — happening now
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. current — electric

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