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. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. When will it ________________ you to start?
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. shower — to wash
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. hand — in cards
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. toast — bread
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. suit — to fit
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. game — wild animals
  14. pitch — completely
  15. net — for catching
  16. game — a match
  17. suit — clothes
  18. hand — help
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. suit — in cards
  21. game — a kind of play
  22. net — in sport
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. shower — rain

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