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 words: he'll be late again.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  23. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  24. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. cue — a hint
  3. firm — steady
  4. saw — the tool
  5. wound — an injury
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. stock — goods
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. mark — a trace
  10. bat — the animal
  11. land — ground
  12. stock — shares
  13. saw — the tool
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. firm — a company
  16. wound — an injury
  17. mark — a grade
  18. land — to come down
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. land — a country
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cue — for pool
  23. cue — a signal
  24. firm — decided

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