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 teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  2. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The tickets are free of ________________.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a list
  2. stem — a stem cell
  3. game — wild animals
  4. last — final
  5. last — to go on
  6. sharp — clever
  7. charge — in control
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. roll — a cake
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. stock — goods
  13. charge — a price
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. charge — electricity
  16. last — finally
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. cold — not warm
  19. stock — shares
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. game — a match
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. cold — an illness
  24. stem — to come from

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