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: face · ball · last · squash · stock · mate · bark · shower

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  11. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Have you found your soul ________________?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. shower — to wash
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. mate — a friend
  7. mate — to breed
  8. shower — a meteor shower
  9. face — to point toward
  10. ball — a great time
  11. stock — a soup base
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. ball — a dance
  14. last — to go on
  15. mate — a partner
  16. stock — goods
  17. bark — to shout
  18. face — part of the head
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. face — to confront
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. stock — shares
  23. shower — rain
  24. squash — to crush

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