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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  12. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bat — the animal
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. snap — to speak sharply
  8. chest — of your body
  9. ball — a great time
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. rest — what's left
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. chest — of your body
  15. net — in sport
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. net — for catching
  18. ball — a dance
  19. rest — a break
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. snap — to click
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. chest — a box
  24. bat — in an idiom

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