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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. mine — for digging
  3. net — in sport
  4. race — a contest
  5. season — in sport
  6. race — humankind
  7. fine — all right
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. last — finally
  10. last — final
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. race — the arms race
  13. fine — high quality
  14. last — to go on
  15. fall — to drop
  16. net — for catching
  17. fall — the season
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. fall — to drop
  20. stock — shares
  21. net — after costs
  22. stock — goods
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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