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: march · ground · file · rest · degree · suit · net · row

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. When will it ________________ you to start?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. degree — temperature
  3. net — for catching
  4. degree — from a university
  5. row — a line
  6. rest — a break
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. ground — a position
  10. net — in sport
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. march — music
  13. ground — crushed
  14. suit — clothes
  15. suit — in cards
  16. file — a document
  17. march — the month
  18. rest — what's left
  19. ground — the earth
  20. row — to paddle
  21. suit — to fit
  22. rest — what's left
  23. march — the month
  24. degree — an amount

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