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: snap · tube · wind · ground · shower · stock · mate · bat

  1. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Have you found your soul ________________?
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — rain
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. snap — to snap out of it
  4. stock — shares
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. stock — goods
  9. shower — to wash
  10. mate — to breed
  11. mate — a friend
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. wind — moving air
  14. ground — the earth
  15. snap — to speak sharply
  16. ground — crushed
  17. tube — a container
  18. mate — a partner
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. snap — to click
  22. ground — a position
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bat — the animal

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