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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. rush — hurry
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rest — a break
  6. last — final
  7. kid — to tease
  8. rest — what's left
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. stock — goods
  16. last — to go on
  17. file — a line of people
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. file — a tool
  21. last — finally
  22. kid — child
  23. rest — what's left
  24. file — a document

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