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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. last — to go on
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. chair — a leader
  6. bat — the animal
  7. stock — goods
  8. cell — a phone
  9. kid — to tease
  10. cell — in biology
  11. kid — child
  12. snap — to click
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. stock — shares
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. fine — all right
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. last — finally
  23. fine — high quality
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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