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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. stock — shares
  3. spell — magic
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. ball — a great time
  6. rash — hasty
  7. spell — letters
  8. clip — for paper
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. rash — a series
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. spell — a short time
  17. wake — a trail
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. ball — a dance
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. clip — to cut
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. branch — a division
  24. clip — a video

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