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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. row — to paddle
  5. clip — to cut
  6. bank — of a river
  7. court — of law
  8. bank — for money
  9. prune — to trim
  10. court — for sport
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bank — for money
  13. sharp — clever
  14. clip — for paper
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. clip — a video
  19. row — a line
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. prune — to trim
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. court — of a king
  24. stock — goods

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