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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. hand — help
  3. cell — in biology
  4. cap — of ice
  5. hand — in cards
  6. stock — shares
  7. cap — a hat
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. plane — a tool
  13. shower — to wash
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. race — a contest
  16. race — the arms race
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. trunk — of an elephant
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. race — humankind
  21. plane — in geometry
  22. shower — rain
  23. cap — a lid
  24. plane — an aircraft

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