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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. She's sitting on a gold ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. season — of the year
  7. net — in sport
  8. ground — a position
  9. ground — crushed
  10. season — in sport
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. net — for catching
  19. bat — the animal
  20. ground — the earth
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. mine — for digging

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