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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. stem — to come from
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. bound — obliged
  7. root — of a word
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. face — part of the head
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bound — tied together
  12. ruler — a monarch
  13. face — to confront
  14. stem — of a plant
  15. stock — goods
  16. cold — not warm
  17. root — of a plant
  18. root — the cause
  19. face — to point toward
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. bound — certain
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. stem — a stem cell

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