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 120 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. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. net — in sport
  3. cold — not warm
  4. degree — from a university
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. charge — a price
  7. wax — for sculpting
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. net — after costs
  10. field — for sport
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. deal — to handle
  14. degree — temperature
  15. degree — an amount
  16. mine — for digging
  17. cold — an illness
  18. field — farmland
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. charge — electricity
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. field — a subject
  23. charge — in control
  24. wax — to grow

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