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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. game — a match
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. last — finally
  6. stock — shares
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. season — of the year
  9. clip — a video
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wind — moving air
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. wind — moving air
  14. last — final
  15. pass — a permit
  16. pass — to succeed
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pass — to spend time
  19. season — in sport
  20. last — to go on
  21. stock — goods
  22. clip — for paper
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. season — to add flavour

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