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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  4. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. file — a line of people
  3. craft — boats
  4. spell — a short time
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. mine — for digging
  7. degree — from a university
  8. net — after costs
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. file — a document
  11. bat — the animal
  12. net — in sport
  13. degree — temperature
  14. craft — a skill
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. degree — an amount
  17. net — for catching
  18. spell — magic
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. craft — a handicraft
  23. file — a tool
  24. bowl — to roll

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