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: wind · snap · band · spell · pit · last · bat · stock

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. pit — in a race
  3. last — finally
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. band — a ring
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. wind — moving air
  8. pit — a fruit stone
  9. spell — letters
  10. stock — shares
  11. wind — moving air
  12. pit — a hole
  13. last — final
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to click
  19. spell — magic
  20. bat — the animal
  21. last — to go on
  22. spell — a short time
  23. band — a music group
  24. bat — for baseball

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