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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. race — the arms race
  4. race — humankind
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. tube — the underground
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. spell — magic
  10. tube — a container
  11. deal — to handle
  12. shower — to wash
  13. net — for catching
  14. wax — to grow
  15. spell — letters
  16. net — in sport
  17. spell — a short time
  18. shower — rain
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. race — a contest
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. wax — in the ear
  24. nail — for a hammer

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