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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. bark — to shout
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. spring — the season
  9. spring — of water
  10. kid — to tease
  11. ground — crushed
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. spring — a coil
  14. kid — child
  15. face — to confront
  16. face — part of the head
  17. ground — the earth
  18. ground — a position
  19. stock — goods
  20. bowl — to roll
  21. club — for dancing
  22. stock — shares
  23. club — a group
  24. face — to point toward

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