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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: stem · fine · stock · lean · game · arm · tube · clip

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. My father caught me by the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. lean — thin
  4. tube — the underground
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. stock — goods
  7. game — wild animals
  8. clip — to cut
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. lean — to bend
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. clip — for paper
  15. game — a match
  16. stock — shares
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. tube — a container
  21. stem — to come from
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. clip — a video
  24. arm — part of the body

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