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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  5. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  6. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ took off on time.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. tear — from crying
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. plane — a tool
  5. stock — goods
  6. scale — for weighing
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. spring — the season
  9. rule — government
  10. tear — to rip
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. rule — a law
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. plane — an aircraft
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bat — the animal
  17. spring — a coil
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. tear — from crying
  20. hand — help
  21. stock — shares
  22. scale — size or range
  23. scale — in music
  24. plane — in geometry

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