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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  12. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. object — an aim
  5. cold — not warm
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — a city
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. capital — money
  11. shower — a meteor shower
  12. object — a thing
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. shower — to wash
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. shower — rain
  17. wave — a sudden rise
  18. chair — a leader
  19. object — to protest
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. cold — an illness

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