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 water is too ________________.
  2. My mare is ________________ in color.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  9. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  21. This piece is in a major ________________.
  22. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  23. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. bay — a horse colour
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. cold — an illness
  5. stock — goods
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. stock — shares
  8. wave — of the sea
  9. bay — to keep at bay
  10. key — the most important part
  11. cell — a phone
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. lash — a whip stroke
  15. cell — in biology
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. key — for a lock
  21. key — in music
  22. lash — an eyelash
  23. lash — to lash out
  24. cold — the Cold War

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