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

  1. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. bore — to tire
  3. stock — shares
  4. chest — of your body
  5. tear — to rip
  6. chest — of your body
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. game — a match
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stock — goods
  11. bore — to drill
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. chest — a box
  14. game — wild animals
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. tear — from crying
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. pitcher — in baseball

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