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 120 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: charge · stand · stock · bay · clip · march · court · chest

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  19. The ________________ market has crashed.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. march — the month
  3. march — music
  4. charge — a price
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. stock — goods
  8. chest — of your body
  9. clip — for paper
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. charge — electricity
  12. court — for sport
  13. clip — a video
  14. chest — of your body
  15. stand — to bear
  16. court — of a king
  17. march — the month
  18. charge — in control
  19. stock — shares
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. clip — to cut
  22. bay — a part of the sea
  23. court — of law
  24. chest — a box

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