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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pitch — completely
  6. land — ground
  7. net — for catching
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. degree — an amount
  10. net — after costs
  11. clip — to cut
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. degree — from a university
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. land — to come down
  16. degree — temperature
  17. clip — for paper
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. net — in sport
  21. ball — a great time
  22. ball — a dance
  23. clip — a video
  24. hide — to keep secret

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