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 116 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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  17. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. pass — a permit
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. hand — help
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. stock — shares
  10. prune — to trim
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. bat — the animal
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. squash — the sport
  15. stock — goods
  16. hand — in cards
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. prune — to trim
  19. game — a match
  20. game — wild animals
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. perch — the fish
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. squash — to crush

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