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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  9. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. file — a tool
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. branch — of a bank
  9. file — a line of people
  10. file — a document
  11. stock — goods
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. season — of the year
  16. snap — to click
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. branch — a division
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — shares
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. rash — a series
  24. branch — of a tree

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