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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. lean — thin
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. stock — shares
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — to drop
  9. saw — the tool
  10. fall — the season
  11. lean — to rest against
  12. stock — goods
  13. saw — the tool
  14. lean — to bend
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bat — the animal
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. perch — the fish
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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