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. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — a break
  2. stock — goods
  3. cold — an illness
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bank — of a river
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. prune — to trim
  8. stock — shares
  9. degree — an amount
  10. cold — not warm
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. stem — to come from
  13. pop — music
  14. pop — soda
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. rest — what's left
  18. bank — for money
  19. degree — temperature
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. degree — from a university
  22. bank — for money
  23. pop — to visit
  24. rest — what's left

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