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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. hand — help
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. land — to come down
  5. stock — shares
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. land — a country
  8. toast — the most admired
  9. file — a tool
  10. toast — a drink to someone
  11. track — a path
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. toast — bread
  16. row — a line
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. land — ground
  19. hand — in cards
  20. file — a document
  21. track — to keep track
  22. track — a song
  23. row — to paddle
  24. racket — for tennis

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