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 116 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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. mate — a friend
  3. stock — shares
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tube — a container
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. rush — hurry
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. fall — the season
  12. stock — goods
  13. mate — to breed
  14. fall — to drop
  15. spring — the season
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. spring — a coil
  18. fall — to drop
  19. spring — of water
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. mate — a partner

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