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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. mate — to breed
  4. wave — a sudden rise
  5. bat — the animal
  6. net — for catching
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. degree — an amount
  9. net — in sport
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. mate — a friend
  13. safe — a strongbox
  14. degree — from a university
  15. chest — of your body
  16. wound — an injury
  17. degree — temperature
  18. mate — a partner
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. wound — an injury
  22. chest — of your body
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. chest — a box

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