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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spell — letters
  2. shower — rain
  3. court — of a king
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. spell — magic
  6. court — of law
  7. court — for sport
  8. stem — to come from
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. stock — shares
  11. rule — government
  12. stock — goods
  13. date — the fruit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. shower — to wash
  16. rule — a law
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. chest — a box
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. chest — of your body
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. spell — a short time
  23. chest — of your body
  24. date — on the calendar

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