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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. lash — an eyelash
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. fine — high quality
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bark — to shout
  9. cold — not warm
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. lash — a whip stroke
  12. lash — to lash out
  13. stock — shares
  14. rash — hasty
  15. wind — moving air
  16. fine — all right
  17. rash — a series
  18. hand — in cards
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. hand — help
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. wind — moving air
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. stock — goods

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