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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  11. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  12. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. current — electric
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. swing — to play on
  5. bark — to shout
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — moving air
  8. swing — in golf
  9. swing — music
  10. bank — for money
  11. bark — a dog's sound
  12. row — a line
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stock — shares
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bank — for money
  17. stock — goods
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. cold — an illness
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bank — of a river
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. current — of water
  24. bark — of a tree

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