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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — after costs
  3. net — in sport
  4. lie — an untruth
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. clip — to cut
  7. ball — a dance
  8. clip — a video
  9. chest — of your body
  10. lie — to recline
  11. race — the arms race
  12. clip — for paper
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. fall — to drop
  15. chest — a box
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. chest — of your body
  18. race — humankind
  19. shower — to wash
  20. fall — the season
  21. fall — to drop
  22. race — a contest
  23. ball — a great time
  24. shower — rain

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