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. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. jam — to spread on bread
  2. shower — to wash
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. race — humankind
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. season — in sport
  7. hand — help
  8. race — a contest
  9. shower — rain
  10. stock — goods
  11. last — finally
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. snap — to click
  15. hand — in cards
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. last — to go on
  18. last — final
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. stock — shares
  21. race — the arms race
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. season — of the year
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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