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: court · bank · land · mine · net · shower · bat · bowl

  1. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. land — ground
  3. shower — rain
  4. land — a country
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. court — of law
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. shower — to wash
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. bank — for money
  11. court — for sport
  12. court — of a king
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. bat — the animal
  16. net — for catching
  17. mine — for digging
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. bank — of a river
  20. net — after costs
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. land — to come down
  23. bank — for money
  24. bowl — a dish

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