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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  9. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. squash — to crush
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. present — the time now
  7. cold — not warm
  8. trunk — of an elephant
  9. staff — employees
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. cold — an illness
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. staff — a stick
  14. staff — employees
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bass — the fish
  17. squash — the sport
  18. stock — goods
  19. bass — low music
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. present — there
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. present — a gift
  24. bass — the instrument

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