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. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. face — to confront
  2. march — the month
  3. march — the month
  4. clip — for paper
  5. stock — goods
  6. scale — size or range
  7. dip — to sink
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. march — music
  12. stock — shares
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. scale — in music
  15. ball — a dance
  16. stem — a stem cell
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. clip — to cut
  19. clip — a video
  20. ball — a great time
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. stem — to come from
  23. face — part of the head
  24. face — to point toward

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