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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. track — a path
  6. mine — for digging
  7. club — for golf
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. track — a song
  10. clip — for paper
  11. club — a group
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. clip — to cut
  14. stock — shares
  15. shower — rain
  16. clip — a video
  17. track — to keep track
  18. kid — child
  19. stock — goods
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. bass — the fish
  22. shower — to wash
  23. bass — low music
  24. club — for dancing

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