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. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. swing — in golf
  3. hand — in cards
  4. lash — a whip stroke
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. tear — from crying
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. swing — to play on
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. tear — from crying
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. net — for catching
  15. deal — an agreement
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. swing — music
  18. net — after costs
  19. tear — to rip
  20. deal — to handle
  21. hand — help
  22. stock — shares
  23. net — in sport
  24. stock — goods

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