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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. stand — for spectators
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. rock — a stone
  6. content — the amount
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stand — to bear
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. stock — shares
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. stock — goods
  13. spring — the season
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. spring — of water
  16. squash — the sport
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. stick — to attach or keep to
  19. squash — to crush
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. content — happy
  22. cold — not warm
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. spring — a coil

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