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 supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. shower — rain
  3. spring — the season
  4. track — a path
  5. swing — music
  6. track — a song
  7. sharp — clever
  8. stock — shares
  9. row — a line
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. row — to paddle
  12. track — to keep track
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. spring — a coil
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. shower — to wash
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. swing — in golf
  22. swing — to play on
  23. spring — of water
  24. stem — to come from

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