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. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. tube — a container
  3. bat — the animal
  4. chip — for betting
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. cell — a phone
  7. mine — for digging
  8. firm — steady
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. firm — decided
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. chip — to eat
  14. prune — to trim
  15. mine — belonging to me
  16. stock — shares
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. firm — a company
  22. stock — goods
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. cell — in biology

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