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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. net — for catching
  3. net — after costs
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. stock — shares
  7. bulb — for light
  8. bulb — for light
  9. court — of a king
  10. net — in sport
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. court — for sport
  14. rock — a stone
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cold — an illness
  17. capital — a city
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. cold — not warm
  20. court — of law
  21. capital — money
  22. stock — goods
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. stock — a soup base

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