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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. ground — a position
  3. suit — to fit
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stock — shares
  7. cold — an illness
  8. land — a country
  9. race — a contest
  10. stock — goods
  11. wake — a trail
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. race — the arms race
  15. land — ground
  16. land — to come down
  17. ground — the earth
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. suit — clothes
  20. race — humankind
  21. cold — not warm
  22. chip — to eat
  23. ground — crushed
  24. chip — for betting

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