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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. squash — the vegetable
  3. spring — the season
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. file — a document
  6. rule — government
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a tool
  9. squash — the sport
  10. squash — to crush
  11. rule — a law
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stock — goods
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. track — a path
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — a coil
  21. stock — shares
  22. track — a song
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. track — to keep track

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