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 116 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: snap · leaves · wax · stock · shower · kid · file · spring

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. stock — goods
  3. leaves — of a tree
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. wax — in the ear
  6. kid — child
  7. wax — to grow
  8. spring — the season
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. file — a document
  11. shower — to wash
  12. file — a line of people
  13. leaves — to go away
  14. spring — a coil
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. kid — to tease
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. wax — for sculpting
  19. spring — of water
  20. file — a tool
  21. shower — rain
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. snap — to click

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