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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Did you ________________ the button?
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — goods
  2. court — of a king
  3. stock — shares
  4. press — to push
  5. net — after costs
  6. can — a tin
  7. race — the arms race
  8. face — part of the head
  9. court — for sport
  10. race — humankind
  11. net — in sport
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. can — to be able to
  14. press — newspapers
  15. race — a contest
  16. file — a line of people
  17. file — a tool
  18. can — a tin
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — to point toward
  21. court — of law
  22. press — a publisher
  23. net — for catching
  24. file — a document

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