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: hand · roll · degree · spell · bulb · land · swing · net

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. We're on a ________________ here.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. I've got to change the light ________________.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. land — ground
  3. roll — a list
  4. net — for catching
  5. net — after costs
  6. land — a country
  7. hand — in cards
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. spell — letters
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. swing — in golf
  12. roll — on a roll
  13. spell — a short time
  14. net — in sport
  15. roll — a cake
  16. spell — magic
  17. swing — music
  18. bulb — for light
  19. bulb — for light
  20. hand — help
  21. degree — from a university
  22. land — to come down
  23. degree — an amount
  24. degree — temperature

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