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. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. hand — in cards
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. wind — moving air
  5. cold — an illness
  6. snap — to click
  7. wind — moving air
  8. face — to point toward
  9. face — part of the head
  10. face — to confront
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. hand — help
  13. stock — goods
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — happy
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. stand — to bear
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. stock — shares

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