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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  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. spell — letters
  2. bat — the animal
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. chair — a leader
  6. net — after costs
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. saw — the tool
  9. net — in sport
  10. net — for catching
  11. saw — the tool
  12. pop — music
  13. spring — the season
  14. spell — magic
  15. hand — help
  16. spring — a coil
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. pop — soda
  19. spell — a short time
  20. spring — of water
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. pop — to visit
  23. hand — in cards
  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