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 keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. The tickets are free of ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. roll — a cake
  3. stock — shares
  4. kick — in football
  5. field — for sport
  6. track — a path
  7. tube — a container
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. prune — to trim
  10. charge — a price
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. roll — a list
  14. tube — the underground
  15. charge — in control
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. field — a subject
  18. track — a song
  19. charge — electricity
  20. prune — to trim
  21. stock — goods
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. field — farmland

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