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

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. club — for dancing
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — a box
  5. clip — for paper
  6. mug — to rob
  7. stock — goods
  8. chest — of your body
  9. mug — a cup
  10. clip — to cut
  11. mug — a face
  12. stem — to come from
  13. club — for golf
  14. stock — shares
  15. club — a group
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. clip — a video
  18. stem — of a plant

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