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. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  2. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Have you settled on a ________________?
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. bore — to drill
  3. tear — from crying
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. capital — a city
  7. bore — to tire
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. date — the fruit
  10. stock — shares
  11. capital — money
  12. spring — of water
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. row — a line
  15. tear — to rip
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — the season
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. tear — from crying
  23. fork — in a road
  24. row — to paddle

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