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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. scale — size or range
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. cold — not warm
  5. drill — army training
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. cold — an illness
  8. drill — a practice
  9. mate — a friend
  10. last — finally
  11. scale — in music
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. mate — to breed
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. last — to go on
  17. last — final
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. stock — goods
  20. drill — the tool
  21. stock — shares
  22. bass — the fish
  23. mate — a partner
  24. content — happy

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