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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  23. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  24. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. sharp — clever
  8. clip — to cut
  9. wax — in the ear
  10. spring — a coil
  11. degree — an amount
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. spring — of water
  15. degree — temperature
  16. clip — a video
  17. spring — the season
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. stock — shares
  21. degree — from a university
  22. wax — to grow
  23. clip — for paper
  24. patient — a sick person

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