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 116 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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  6. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. rest — what's left
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. rest — what's left
  5. snap — to click
  6. snap — to speak sharply
  7. swing — music
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. stock — shares
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. swing — in golf
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. cold — an illness
  15. swing — to play on
  16. cold — not warm
  17. rest — a break
  18. scale — size or range
  19. stock — goods
  20. scale — in music
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a ring
  24. bowl — a dish

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