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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. bank — of a river
  3. cold — not warm
  4. rash — a series
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — wild animals
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. cold — an illness
  10. key — the most important part
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. net — for catching
  13. file — a line of people
  14. wave — with your hand
  15. file — a tool
  16. net — in sport
  17. key — in music
  18. bank — for money
  19. file — a document
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. key — for a lock
  22. game — a match
  23. bank — for money
  24. rash — hasty

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