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: game · stock · squash · march · ground · spring · band · swing

  1. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. spring — the season
  3. spring — a coil
  4. squash — to crush
  5. band — a music group
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. stock — shares
  8. march — the month
  9. game — wild animals
  10. ground — crushed
  11. game — a match
  12. ground — the earth
  13. swing — in golf
  14. stock — goods
  15. march — music
  16. band — a ring
  17. spring — of water
  18. ground — a position
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. march — the month
  21. squash — the sport
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. swing — to play on

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