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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. My mare is ________________ in color.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. hand — in cards
  3. net — after costs
  4. ground — crushed
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. bay — a horse colour
  8. hand — help
  9. row — a line
  10. bay — a part of the sea
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. net — in sport
  16. ground — a position
  17. row — to paddle
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. file — a tool
  21. date — the fruit
  22. ground — the earth
  23. file — a document
  24. net — for catching

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