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 ball is in your ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  15. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. stock — goods
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. row — a quarrel
  6. stock — shares
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. row — a line
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. kid — child
  12. swing — to play on
  13. pass — a permit
  14. swing — music
  15. pass — to succeed
  16. court — of law
  17. swing — in golf
  18. kid — to tease
  19. court — of a king
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. content — the amount
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. row — to paddle
  24. fork — in a road

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