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: bulb · tear · wind · court · stock · clip · pop · club

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The light ________________ burned out.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  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. tear — to rip
  2. wind — to turn a key
  3. stock — goods
  4. clip — a video
  5. club — a group
  6. stock — shares
  7. court — of a king
  8. bulb — for light
  9. wind — moving air
  10. clip — to cut
  11. pop — music
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. pop — soda
  14. club — for dancing
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. court — for sport
  17. club — for golf
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bulb — for light
  20. tear — from crying
  21. court — of law
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pop — to visit
  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