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 116 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. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. march — music
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. wake — a trail
  5. prune — to trim
  6. row — to paddle
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. capital — money
  10. content — the amount
  11. stock — goods
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. march — the month
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. content — happy
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. row — a line
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. march — the month
  21. capital — a city
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. stock — shares
  24. prune — to trim

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