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: bat · stock · hand · chest · bulb · cap · bass · spring

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. I've got to change the light ________________.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. cap — of ice
  6. hand — in cards
  7. bulb — for light
  8. stock — shares
  9. spring — a coil
  10. spring — the season
  11. chest — a box
  12. chest — of your body
  13. bass — low music
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. bulb — for light
  16. stock — goods
  17. bass — the fish
  18. spring — of water
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. chest — of your body
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — a lid
  24. hand — help

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