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: kid · land · bear · can · pitcher · spell · rash · net

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. spell — letters
  3. rash — hasty
  4. net — for catching
  5. spell — a short time
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. can — a tin
  10. rash — on the skin
  11. can — to be able to
  12. land — ground
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — child
  15. net — in sport
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. land — to come down
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. bear — the animal
  20. can — a tin
  21. bear — the animal
  22. net — after costs
  23. spell — magic
  24. land — a country

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