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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. shower — to wash
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. content — the amount
  7. stock — goods
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. game — wild animals
  10. present — the time now
  11. stock — shares
  12. present — there
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. content — happy
  15. shower — rain
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. game — a match
  19. present — a gift
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. stand — for spectators

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