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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. I got dealt a bad ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pass — to spend time
  4. kid — to tease
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. stock — shares
  7. pass — a permit
  8. hand — help
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. stock — goods
  11. cold — an illness
  12. rule — government
  13. cold — not warm
  14. kid — child
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. pass — to succeed
  23. rule — a law
  24. hand — in cards

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