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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — to play on
  4. club — a group
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. degree — from a university
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. tear — from crying
  9. tear — to rip
  10. band — a ring
  11. march — the month
  12. degree — an amount
  13. club — for dancing
  14. club — for golf
  15. stock — shares
  16. tear — from crying
  17. swing — in golf
  18. stock — goods
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. degree — temperature
  21. band — a music group
  22. march — music
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. march — the month

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