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. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. court — for sport
  3. season — in sport
  4. cold — an illness
  5. court — of law
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. race — a contest
  8. court — of a king
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. cold — not warm
  11. march — music
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. march — the month
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. march — the month
  16. row — a line
  17. row — to paddle
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. race — humankind
  21. lie — to recline
  22. stock — shares
  23. race — the arms race
  24. season — of the year

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