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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. pitch — completely
  3. bulb — for light
  4. spring — of water
  5. bulb — for light
  6. club — for golf
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. season — in sport
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — the season
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. club — a group
  14. season — of the year
  15. cold — an illness
  16. club — for dancing
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. stock — goods
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. cold — not warm

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