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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  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. file — a tool
  2. net — after costs
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. file — a line of people
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. current — of water
  8. net — for catching
  9. court — for sport
  10. court — of a king
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. dip — to sink
  13. current — electric
  14. net — in sport
  15. bat — the animal
  16. field — a subject
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. current — happening now
  19. file — a document
  20. dip — a sauce
  21. field — for sport
  22. court — of law
  23. field — farmland
  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