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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. file — a tool
  4. shower — to wash
  5. stock — shares
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. ball — a dance
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. chest — of your body
  10. ball — a great time
  11. stock — goods
  12. prune — to trim
  13. row — a line
  14. chest — of your body
  15. mug — a cup
  16. file — a document
  17. shower — rain
  18. ball — a round shape
  19. prune — to trim
  20. mug — a face
  21. row — to paddle
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. file — a line of people
  24. chest — a box

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