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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I'll be taking the ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. net — after costs
  6. net — in sport
  7. tube — the underground
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. net — for catching
  10. kick — in football
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bowl — a dish
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. prune — to trim
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. bark — to shout
  22. ground — a position
  23. ground — the earth
  24. tube — a container

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