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 · pitcher · game · tube · board · season · spring · rule

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. rule — government
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. game — a match
  6. season — in sport
  7. rule — a law
  8. stock — goods
  9. board — to get on
  10. spring — of water
  11. stock — shares
  12. tube — the underground
  13. spring — a coil
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. spring — the season
  17. board — a committee
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. game — wild animals
  20. tube — a container
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. tube — in a tire
  24. season — of the year

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