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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. file — a tool
  3. content — the amount
  4. file — a line of people
  5. stock — shares
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. row — to paddle
  8. field — farmland
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. present — there
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. stock — goods
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. present — a gift
  15. row — a line
  16. cold — not warm
  17. field — a subject
  18. content — happy
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. field — for sport
  21. cold — an illness
  22. present — the time now
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. file — a document

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