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 120 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. stock — goods
  3. rash — hasty
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. wind — moving air
  6. cap — of ice
  7. court — of law
  8. wake — a trail
  9. ground — the earth
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. rash — a series
  12. stock — shares
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. ground — a position
  15. ground — crushed
  16. court — for sport
  17. wind — moving air
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. cap — a hat
  21. cap — a lid
  22. court — of a king
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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