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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. What do you think of the new ________________?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. net — after costs
  3. game — a match
  4. ground — crushed
  5. content — happy
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. cabinet — a cupboard
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. ground — a position
  10. rash — hasty
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. net — in sport
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. net — for catching
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — music
  19. content — the amount
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. rash — a series
  23. pound — a weight
  24. ground — the earth

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