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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. stock — shares
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. march — the month
  5. rest — what's left
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. swing — in golf
  8. cold — not warm
  9. rest — a break
  10. swing — to play on
  11. jam — a tight spot
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. swing — music
  14. stock — goods
  15. mine — for digging
  16. wind — moving air
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. cold — an illness
  19. march — music
  20. jam — to spread on bread
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. rest — what's left
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. march — the month

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