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: kick · rule · court · net · wave · game · stock · content

  1. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. wave — with your hand
  3. court — for sport
  4. game — a match
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. stock — goods
  7. net — in sport
  8. net — after costs
  9. rule — government
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. content — the amount
  13. court — of a king
  14. stock — shares
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. court — of law
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. net — for catching
  20. rule — to rule out
  21. content — happy
  22. kick — in football
  23. rule — a law
  24. content — videos and posts

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