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: season · bay · chair · cold · pitcher · chip · stock · spring

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. My mare is ________________ in color.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. chip — for betting
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. season — of the year
  8. spring — of water
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. stock — shares
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. chip — to eat
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. stock — goods
  19. bay — to keep at bay
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. bay — a horse colour
  24. season — in sport

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