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: bass · bowl · clip · kid · ground · date · arm · net

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. ground — crushed
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. date — the fruit
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. bass — low music
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. kid — to tease
  12. ground — the earth
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. clip — a video
  16. net — for catching
  17. ground — a position
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. net — in sport
  20. kid — child
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. clip — to cut
  23. net — after costs
  24. clip — for paper

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