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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. key — for a lock
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. chest — of your body
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. stock — goods
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. chest — a box
  9. bound — certain
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mine — for digging
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. perch — the fish
  14. root — the cause
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — of a plant
  17. key — in music
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. sharp — clever
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. bound — obliged
  22. bound — tied together
  23. stock — shares
  24. perch — for a bird

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