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. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. cold — not warm
  3. club — for dancing
  4. stock — goods
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. lean — to bend
  7. wind — moving air
  8. lean — thin
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. root — of a word
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. root — the cause
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. content — the amount
  17. club — for golf
  18. content — happy
  19. wind — moving air
  20. root — of a plant
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. club — a group
  23. stock — shares
  24. wind — to turn a key

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