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 · degree · rock · ball · track · bank · net · clip

  1. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. net — for catching
  2. ball — a great time
  3. clip — a video
  4. clip — for paper
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — help
  7. degree — an amount
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. track — a song
  10. clip — to cut
  11. rock — music
  12. degree — from a university
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. net — in sport
  15. ball — a dance
  16. bank — of a river
  17. net — after costs
  18. track — a path
  19. track — to keep track
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. degree — temperature
  22. bank — for money
  23. bank — for money
  24. rock — a stone

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