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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. march — music
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cell — in biology
  6. net — in sport
  7. ground — the earth
  8. degree — an amount
  9. stock — goods
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — after costs
  12. march — the month
  13. dip — to sink
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. ground — a position
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. ground — crushed
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. stock — shares

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