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 124 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 office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. How do you ________________ your surname?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  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. staff — employees
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. wind — moving air
  5. staff — employees
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. spell — magic
  8. fine — high quality
  9. spell — a short time
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. spell — letters
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. stock — shares
  15. saw — the tool
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. fine — all right
  18. sharp — clever
  19. saw — the tool
  20. capital — money
  21. staff — a stick
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  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