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: kid · face · content · branch · bat · board · stock · court

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. court — for sport
  3. face — part of the head
  4. content — happy
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. stock — shares
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. branch — a division
  12. stock — goods
  13. board — to get on
  14. face — to point toward
  15. face — to confront
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. board — a committee
  20. content — the amount
  21. court — of a king
  22. bat — the animal
  23. court — of law
  24. kid — to tease

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