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. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  8. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. perch — the fish
  3. spring — a coil
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. cue — a signal
  6. spring — the season
  7. plane — a tool
  8. cue — for pool
  9. fall — the season
  10. fall — to drop
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cold — an illness
  14. club — for dancing
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. stock — goods
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. cold — not warm
  19. fall — to drop
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. spring — of water
  22. club — for golf
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. club — a group

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