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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. stock — shares
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. stem — to come from
  10. clip — to cut
  11. clip — a video
  12. cold — an illness
  13. perch — the fish
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. cold — not warm
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. stock — goods

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