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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  4. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. roll — a cake
  5. net — after costs
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. kick — in football
  9. roll — a list
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. shower — to wash
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. net — for catching
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. shower — rain
  19. net — in sport
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bat — the animal
  22. snap — to click
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. kick — a thrill

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