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: chest · bowl · pop · mine · pound · bank · bore · net

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. pop — music
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — soda
  6. bore — to tire
  7. chest — a box
  8. net — in sport
  9. pound — a weight
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. bank — for money
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bore — to drill
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. bore — gave birth
  17. chest — of your body
  18. mine — for digging
  19. bank — of a river
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. bank — for money
  23. net — for catching
  24. pound — to hit hard

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