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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. stock — goods
  7. branch — a division
  8. roll — a cake
  9. march — music
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. roll — a list
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. march — the month
  16. court — of law
  17. court — for sport
  18. swing — in golf
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. court — of a king
  23. march — the month
  24. swing — music

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