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: squash · wound · race · clip · bat · cabinet · stock · trunk

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. What do you think of the new ________________?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. trunk — of a tree
  3. squash — the sport
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. race — humankind
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. race — a contest
  8. wound — an injury
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. clip — a video
  12. squash — to crush
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. race — the arms race
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. clip — to cut
  18. cabinet — ministers
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. cabinet — a cupboard
  22. stock — goods
  23. bat — the animal
  24. clip — for paper

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