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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. staff — employees
  3. tear — to rip
  4. drill — a practice
  5. staff — employees
  6. tear — from crying
  7. stock — shares
  8. game — wild animals
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. drill — army training
  12. march — the month
  13. drill — the tool
  14. march — music
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. staff — a stick
  17. field — a subject
  18. stock — goods
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bass — low music
  21. march — the month
  22. field — farmland
  23. field — for sport
  24. game — a kind of play

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