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. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  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. perch — for a bird
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. stock — goods
  7. perch — the fish
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. stock — shares
  10. tube — a container
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. tube — the underground
  13. wind — moving air
  14. hand — help
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. chip — to eat
  17. hand — in cards
  18. pitch — a sports field
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. deal — to handle
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. chip — for betting
  23. pitch — completely
  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