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's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. ground — a position
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. ground — crushed
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. net — in sport
  8. sharp — clever
  9. shower — rain
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. net — after costs
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. clip — to cut
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. net — for catching
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. clip — a video
  20. ground — the earth
  21. branch — a division
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. clip — for paper
  24. sharp — exactly

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