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: shower · stick · stock · march · mug · capital · race · rash

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. mug — to rob
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. march — the month
  5. race — the arms race
  6. race — humankind
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — hasty
  9. capital — a big letter
  10. march — music
  11. mug — a cup
  12. capital — a city
  13. race — a contest
  14. march — the month
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stock — goods
  17. stock — shares
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. mug — a face
  21. capital — money
  22. shower — rain
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. rash — on the skin

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