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 120 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: present · staff · cold · bark · track · stem · ground · stock

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. staff — employees
  3. ground — the earth
  4. cold — not warm
  5. staff — a stick
  6. present — there
  7. track — to keep track
  8. cold — an illness
  9. stem — to come from
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. track — a path
  12. present — the time now
  13. ground — a position
  14. stock — goods
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. present — a gift
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. track — a song
  20. stem — a stem cell
  21. stock — shares
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. staff — employees
  24. bark — to shout

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