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. When are we going to ________________?
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. How do you ________________ your surname?
  8. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  24. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — shares
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. spell — letters
  8. drill — the tool
  9. land — ground
  10. saw — the tool
  11. spring — a coil
  12. spell — magic
  13. rush — hurry
  14. stock — goods
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. spring — the season
  17. spring — of water
  18. saw — the tool
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. spell — a short time
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. land — a country
  24. wave — a sudden rise

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