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

Word bank: bowl · arm · kid · pound · sharp · cold · stock · wound

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. kid — child
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. cold — not warm
  6. kid — to tease
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. pound — a weight
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. cold — an illness
  11. wound — an injury
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. sharp — clever
  14. wound — an injury
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. stock — goods

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