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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. What do you think of the new ________________?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. stock — shares
  3. field — for sport
  4. cold — an illness
  5. race — humankind
  6. race — a contest
  7. cold — not warm
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. lean — to bend
  12. race — the arms race
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. file — a document
  16. field — farmland
  17. lean — thin
  18. file — a tool
  19. stock — goods
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. field — a subject
  24. lean — to rest against

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