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: firm · plane · wind · stock · bowl · cold · stem · shower

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. stock — goods
  3. plane — a tool
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. cold — not warm
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. wind — moving air
  14. firm — decided
  15. stem — to come from
  16. plane — in geometry
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. firm — steady
  19. stock — shares
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. shower — rain
  22. firm — a company
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. stem — of a plant

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