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 124 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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. net — after costs
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. row — a line
  5. saw — past of 'see'
  6. bass — low music
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. field — a subject
  10. clip — a video
  11. row — to paddle
  12. saw — the tool
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. clip — for paper
  15. net — for catching
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. bass — the fish
  18. field — for sport
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. net — in sport
  22. field — farmland
  23. clip — to cut
  24. racket — a loud noise

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