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: cold · lash · pitcher · stock · spring · cell · game · bore

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  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. spring — the season
  2. cell — in biology
  3. lash — a whip stroke
  4. cell — a phone
  5. bore — to tire
  6. spring — of water
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. lash — to lash out
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. bore — to drill
  12. stock — shares
  13. game — wild animals
  14. lash — an eyelash
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. cold — not warm
  21. spring — a coil
  22. cold — an illness
  23. game — a match
  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