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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. hand — in cards
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. stem — to come from
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. game — a match
  8. charge — a price
  9. stock — goods
  10. charge — in control
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. hand — help
  14. charge — electricity
  15. wax — to grow
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. wax — for sculpting
  18. game — wild animals

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