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: stock · wave · land · ground · patient · foot · wind · date

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. ground — crushed
  3. foot — the bottom
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. stock — shares
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. foot — a measure
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. wave — of the sea
  14. date — the fruit
  15. ground — the earth
  16. stock — goods
  17. land — to come down
  18. patient — calm and waiting
  19. land — ground
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. land — a country
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. ground — a position
  24. stock — a soup base

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