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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. He was locked up in a ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. game — wild animals
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. snap — to click
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. court — of law
  10. march — the month
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. wax — to grow
  13. rest — a break
  14. cell — a phone
  15. rest — what's left
  16. game — a match
  17. court — of a king
  18. march — music
  19. cell — in biology
  20. rest — what's left
  21. cell — in a prison
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. march — the month
  24. court — for sport

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