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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. My mare is ________________ in color.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  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. key — the most important part
  2. clip — a video
  3. fine — all right
  4. wind — moving air
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. kid — child
  7. clip — for paper
  8. pop — to visit
  9. key — for a lock
  10. pop — soda
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. stock — goods
  13. kid — to tease
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. bay — a horse colour
  18. pop — music
  19. clip — to cut
  20. wind — moving air
  21. key — in music
  22. fine — high quality
  23. stock — shares
  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