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

Word bank: can · bark · mark · mate · bat · sharp · net · game

  1. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. ________________ you help me carry this box?

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. mate — to breed
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. net — in sport
  6. can — a tin
  7. net — for catching
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. sharp — clever
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. can — a tin
  12. mate — a friend
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. game — wild animals
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. net — after costs
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. game — a match
  21. mark — a trace
  22. mark — a grade
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. can — to be able to

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