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. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to bend
  2. mine — for digging
  3. club — for dancing
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. stock — shares
  6. bear — the animal
  7. club — a group
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. cold — an illness
  12. club — for golf
  13. lean — thin
  14. cold — not warm
  15. kid — to tease
  16. net — for catching
  17. kid — child
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. net — after costs
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. bear — the animal
  22. stock — goods
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. net — in sport

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