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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. ball — a dance
  3. land — to come down
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. shower — to wash
  7. net — in sport
  8. bear — the animal
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — rain
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. land — a country
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. pop — music
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. land — ground
  17. net — for catching
  18. pop — soda
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. ball — a great time
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. straw — to clutch at straws
  23. bear — the animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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