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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  5. When was this ________________ built?
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. content — the amount
  3. ground — the earth
  4. pit — in a race
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. content — happy
  8. pit — a hole
  9. land — a country
  10. land — to come down
  11. stock — goods
  12. deal — a big deal
  13. row — a line
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. row — to paddle
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — crushed
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. land — ground
  21. deal — to handle
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. content — videos and posts

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