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. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. swing — music
  3. present — there
  4. stock — shares
  5. rule — government
  6. shower — to wash
  7. stock — goods
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. scale — in music
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. scale — size or range
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. swing — to play on
  16. rule — a law
  17. present — the time now
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. swing — in golf
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. present — a gift
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. mine — for digging
  24. shower — rain

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