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: dip · chip · bat · field · arm · net · bore · fall

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. net — in sport
  4. bore — to tire
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. chip — to eat
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — the animal
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — the season
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bore — to drill
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. chip — for betting
  16. fall — to drop
  17. arm — a part of something
  18. field — for sport
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. field — a subject
  21. net — for catching
  22. dip — to sink
  23. field — farmland
  24. arm — part of the body

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