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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. degree — from a university
  3. stock — goods
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. degree — an amount
  8. kid — to tease
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. suit — clothes
  11. kid — child
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. stock — shares
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. degree — temperature
  18. pit — a hole
  19. cold — not warm
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pit — in a race
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. suit — to fit
  24. stock — a soup base

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