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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The ________________ market has crashed.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. track — a path
  5. wind — moving air
  6. snap — to click
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. spring — a coil
  9. file — a tool
  10. stock — goods
  11. ball — a great time
  12. file — a document
  13. rock — a stone
  14. spring — the season
  15. ball — a dance
  16. wind — moving air
  17. track — a song
  18. stock — shares
  19. rock — music
  20. spring — of water
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. track — to keep track
  23. snap — to snap out of it
  24. file — a line of people

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