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 120 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  8. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. stock — shares
  4. court — of a king
  5. bass — the fish
  6. ground — crushed
  7. press — newspapers
  8. court — of law
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. press — to push
  11. scale — in music
  12. ground — the earth
  13. clip — a video
  14. court — for sport
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. ground — a position
  17. clip — for paper
  18. press — a publisher
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — size or range
  21. bass — low music
  22. clip — to cut
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bass — the instrument

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