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: wake · snap · foot · wind · season · object · stock · cold

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. snap — to speak sharply
  4. stock — shares
  5. object — to protest
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. snap — to click
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. wind — moving air
  12. season — in sport
  13. wake — a trail
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. wind — moving air
  17. object — a thing
  18. object — an aim
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. season — of the year
  21. cold — not warm
  22. stock — goods
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wake — before a funeral

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