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: arm · stock · spring · track · key · bound · degree · cold

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. That was ________________ to happen.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. This piece is in a major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. track — a path
  3. spring — of water
  4. bound — obliged
  5. track — a song
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. key — for a lock
  8. spring — a coil
  9. stock — shares
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. cold — an illness
  13. key — the most important part
  14. degree — from a university
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bound — tied together
  17. degree — temperature
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. bound — certain
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. degree — an amount
  22. stock — goods
  23. spring — the season
  24. key — in music

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