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: net · present · saw · date · last · bat · ground · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. She's very handy with a ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. When are we going to ________________?
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. bat — the animal
  3. present — there
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. net — for catching
  6. land — a country
  7. last — to go on
  8. saw — the tool
  9. ground — the earth
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. date — the fruit
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. ground — a position
  16. last — finally
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. land — to come down
  20. last — final
  21. present — a gift
  22. saw — the tool
  23. present — the time now
  24. ground — crushed

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