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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. last — final
  3. kid — child
  4. net — after costs
  5. toast — bread
  6. mark — a trace
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. hand — in cards
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. net — in sport
  15. last — to go on
  16. net — for catching
  17. mark — a grade
  18. date — the fruit
  19. deal — to handle
  20. kid — to tease
  21. hand — help
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. last — finally

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