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 120 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. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. pit — a fruit stone
  3. spring — a coil
  4. stock — shares
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. wind — moving air
  9. spring — of water
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. spring — the season
  13. leaves — of a tree
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. stock — goods
  16. wind — moving air
  17. cell — in biology
  18. hand — in cards
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. cell — a phone
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. pit — in a race
  23. wake — a trail
  24. hand — help

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