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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. squash — to crush
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. stock — shares
  7. board — to get on
  8. bat — the animal
  9. sharp — with an edge
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. squash — the sport
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. stock — goods
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. wind — moving air
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. mine — for digging
  20. wind — moving air
  21. board — a committee
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. board — a flat piece

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