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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We're almost out of ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. net — after costs
  4. cold — an illness
  5. game — a match
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pop — soda
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. can — to be able to
  11. mark — a trace
  12. can — a tin
  13. can — a tin
  14. mine — for digging
  15. club — a group
  16. net — for catching
  17. mark — to pay attention
  18. club — for golf
  19. mark — a grade
  20. net — in sport
  21. pop — to visit
  22. club — for dancing
  23. game — wild animals
  24. cold — not warm

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