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 120 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 words: he'll be late again.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. last — finally
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. pop — music
  5. dip — to sink
  6. stock — shares
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. last — to go on
  10. mark — a trace
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bat — the animal
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. hand — help
  15. mark — a grade
  16. row — a line
  17. stock — goods
  18. pop — soda
  19. last — final
  20. row — to paddle
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. pop — to visit
  24. dip — to dunk

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