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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: hand · land · game · net · track · pit

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. game — wild animals
  4. land — to come down
  5. net — in sport
  6. track — a path
  7. net — after costs
  8. game — a match
  9. land — a country
  10. land — ground
  11. net — for catching
  12. hand — in cards
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. track — a song
  15. track — to keep track
  16. hand — help
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. pit — in a race

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