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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. We're on a ________________ here.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. file — a tool
  4. ground — crushed
  5. wind — moving air
  6. net — after costs
  7. wind — moving air
  8. ground — a position
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. roll — on a roll
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bound — tied together
  13. roll — a list
  14. stock — goods
  15. bound — certain
  16. stock — shares
  17. file — a document
  18. file — a line of people
  19. net — for catching
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. foot — a measure
  23. net — in sport
  24. bound — obliged

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