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 116 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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. There's no middle ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. land — ground
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — in sport
  5. ground — crushed
  6. bark — to shout
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. can — a tin
  11. ground — a position
  12. kid — to tease
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. net — for catching
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. kid — child
  17. can — a tin
  18. land — to come down
  19. wax — to grow
  20. can — to be able to
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stem — to come from
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. wax — for sculpting

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