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 · game · suit · staff · chest · mine · degree · face

  1. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. stock — shares
  3. degree — an amount
  4. face — to point toward
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. staff — a stick
  7. suit — in cards
  8. degree — temperature
  9. game — a match
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. face — to confront
  12. face — part of the head
  13. game — wild animals
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stock — goods
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. degree — from a university
  18. chest — a box
  19. chest — of your body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. staff — employees
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. suit — clothes
  24. staff — employees

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