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. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. There's no middle ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bore — to drill
  3. degree — temperature
  4. deal — an agreement
  5. degree — an amount
  6. net — for catching
  7. field — a subject
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. ground — the earth
  10. land — ground
  11. deal — to handle
  12. ground — crushed
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. land — to come down
  16. net — in sport
  17. wake — a trail
  18. bore — to tire
  19. field — farmland
  20. ground — a position
  21. land — a country
  22. field — for sport
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. degree — from a university

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