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. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chip — for betting
  2. stock — goods
  3. cold — an illness
  4. fine — all right
  5. fine — a penalty
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. kid — to tease
  9. stock — shares
  10. clip — to cut
  11. wax — for sculpting
  12. kid — child
  13. clip — for paper
  14. wax — to grow
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. wound — an injury
  17. chip — in a computer
  18. cold — not warm
  19. fine — high quality
  20. chip — to eat
  21. wound — an injury
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. clip — a video

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