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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  23. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. present — a gift
  5. charge — a price
  6. charge — in control
  7. present — the time now
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. present — there
  12. band — a music group
  13. cold — an illness
  14. pitch — completely
  15. hand — help
  16. cold — not warm
  17. hand — in cards
  18. game — wild animals
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. game — a match
  21. stock — goods
  22. pitch — a sales talk
  23. charge — electricity
  24. cold — the Cold War

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