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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. He is an ace ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. tube — the underground
  4. swing — music
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. fine — all right
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. stock — shares
  9. swing — to play on
  10. tear — from crying
  11. pitcher — in baseball
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. squash — the sport
  15. tear — from crying
  16. swing — in golf
  17. squash — to crush
  18. rest — a break
  19. tube — a container
  20. rest — what's left
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. stock — goods
  23. tear — to rip
  24. rest — what's left

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