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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. hand — in cards
  3. net — after costs
  4. craft — a skill
  5. present — there
  6. net — in sport
  7. field — a subject
  8. land — to come down
  9. hand — help
  10. race — a contest
  11. craft — boats
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. present — the time now
  15. land — a country
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. field — for sport
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. net — for catching
  20. field — farmland
  21. race — humankind
  22. race — the arms race
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. present — a gift

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