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: leaves · stock · ground · cold · jam · bore · field · march

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  10. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  21. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. stock — shares
  3. field — for sport
  4. stock — goods
  5. cold — an illness
  6. march — the month
  7. stock — a soup base
  8. field — farmland
  9. leaves — of a tree
  10. bore — to drill
  11. ground — the earth
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. jam — in traffic
  14. ground — a position
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. march — music
  18. field — a subject
  19. march — the month
  20. jam — a tight spot
  21. bore — to tire
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. cold — not warm

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