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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. band — a ring
  3. craft — a skill
  4. band — a music group
  5. net — for catching
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. bat — the animal
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. root — of a plant
  11. bass — low music
  12. bass — the fish
  13. root — the cause
  14. net — in sport
  15. craft — boats
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. chip — for betting
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bark — to shout
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. chip — to eat
  24. root — of a word

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