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. I'll be taking the ________________.
  2. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. tube — the underground
  2. key — the most important part
  3. key — in music
  4. stock — goods
  5. key — for a lock
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. shower — rain
  8. shower — to wash
  9. mine — for digging
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. stock — shares
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. spell — a short time
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. pitch — completely
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. tube — a container
  20. spell — magic
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. lash — to lash out
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. spell — letters

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