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: rash · clip · stock · sharp · bear · net · cold · ball

  1. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — a series
  2. cold — not warm
  3. ball — a dance
  4. stock — goods
  5. net — after costs
  6. bear — the animal
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. rash — hasty
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. net — in sport
  11. cold — an illness
  12. ball — a great time
  13. net — for catching
  14. clip — a video
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. bear — the animal
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. sharp — clever
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. sharp — with an edge
  21. stock — shares
  22. bear — to put up with
  23. clip — to cut
  24. clip — for paper

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