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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. scale — size or range
  3. shower — to wash
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. spell — letters
  6. fall — to drop
  7. spell — a short time
  8. net — for catching
  9. rule — a law
  10. scale — in music
  11. fall — to drop
  12. spring — of water
  13. spell — magic
  14. spring — a coil
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. spring — the season
  17. leaves — to go away
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. net — in sport
  20. shower — rain
  21. fall — the season
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. rule — to rule out
  24. rule — government

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