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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — finally
  2. rest — a break
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. last — final
  5. stock — goods
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. file — a line of people
  8. file — a document
  9. rash — a series
  10. squash — to crush
  11. rest — what's left
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pitch — completely
  14. kid — child
  15. pitch — a sports field
  16. file — a tool
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. rash — hasty
  19. last — to go on
  20. rest — what's left
  21. stock — shares
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. squash — the sport

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