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 · mine · hand · sharp · wave · net · bowl · bat

  1. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. march — music
  3. wave — with your hand
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. hand — in cards
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. march — the month
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. bat — the animal
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. sharp — clever
  16. net — in sport
  17. mine — for digging
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. net — for catching
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. net — after costs
  22. hand — help
  23. march — the month
  24. mine — an explosive

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