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 do you think of the new ________________?
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. net — after costs
  3. bound — obliged
  4. court — for sport
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. bound — certain
  7. bound — tied together
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. court — of a king
  10. court — of law
  11. cabinet — a cupboard
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. net — for catching
  14. hand — in cards
  15. ball — a dance
  16. shower — rain
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. shower — to wash
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. net — in sport
  21. ball — a great time
  22. hand — help
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. nail — for a hammer

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