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 120 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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. object — to protest
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. stock — shares
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. spring — the season
  7. cold — an illness
  8. kick — in football
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. cold — not warm
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. spring — a coil
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. stock — goods
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. hand — in cards
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. object — a thing
  21. object — an aim
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. spring — of water
  24. kick — a thrill

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