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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. track — a path
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. track — to keep track
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. mine — for digging
  8. snap — to click
  9. root — of a word
  10. mug — a cup
  11. mug — a face
  12. root — of a plant
  13. last — to go on
  14. net — for catching
  15. last — finally
  16. mug — to rob
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. track — a song
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. net — in sport
  22. last — final
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. root — the cause

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