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 120 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 was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. field — for sport
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. ground — crushed
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. field — a subject
  7. stand — to bear
  8. ground — the earth
  9. field — farmland
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. stock — goods
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. tear — from crying
  16. net — for catching
  17. tear — from crying
  18. net — in sport
  19. ground — a position
  20. tear — to rip
  21. wind — moving air
  22. stock — shares
  23. rush — hurry
  24. wind — moving air

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