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. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  3. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. clip — for paper
  3. stem — to come from
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. field — a subject
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. stock — goods
  8. dip — to dunk
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. field — farmland
  12. dip — a sauce
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. chip — to eat
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. stock — shares
  17. field — for sport
  18. mine — for digging
  19. chip — in a computer
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. clip — to cut
  22. clip — a video
  23. chip — for betting
  24. dip — to sink

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