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 120 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 newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  2. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — the bottom
  2. prune — to trim
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. wake — a trail
  5. foot — a measure
  6. degree — from a university
  7. stock — shares
  8. stock — goods
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. bowl — a dish
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. degree — an amount
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — the fruit
  16. cold — an illness
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. cold — not warm
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. degree — temperature
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. bowl — a football final

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