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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. net — after costs
  3. roll — a cake
  4. net — for catching
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. swing — music
  8. hand — help
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. swing — in golf
  11. band — a ring
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. patient — a sick person
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. roll — a list
  17. band — a music group
  18. net — in sport
  19. clip — for paper
  20. clip — to cut
  21. hand — in cards
  22. clip — a video
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. swing — to play on

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