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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. The light ________________ burned out.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of a king
  2. wind — moving air
  3. stock — goods
  4. bulb — for light
  5. present — a gift
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. prune — to trim
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. prune — to trim
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. tear — from crying
  16. present — the time now
  17. court — of law
  18. present — there
  19. tear — to rip
  20. court — for sport
  21. bulb — for light
  22. tear — from crying
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. stock — shares

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