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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. fall — the season
  3. stock — goods
  4. season — in sport
  5. fall — to drop
  6. rash — hasty
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bark — a dog's sound
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bat — the animal
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. squash — the vegetable
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. fall — to drop
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bark — to shout
  20. stock — shares
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. rash — a series
  23. sharp — clever
  24. season — of the year

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