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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. That must've been a ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. track — to keep track
  3. prune — to trim
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. rush — hurry
  6. prune — to trim
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. degree — temperature
  9. rule — a law
  10. degree — an amount
  11. net — in sport
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. rush — a thrill
  15. shower — rain
  16. track — a song
  17. rule — government
  18. track — a path
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. degree — from a university
  21. shower — to wash
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. net — for catching
  24. pound — a weight

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