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: trunk · cold · fan · stock · bore · march · race · pitcher

  1. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. stock — goods
  3. march — the month
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. march — the month
  7. stock — shares
  8. cold — an illness
  9. race — humankind
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. cold — not warm
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. march — music
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. bore — to drill
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bore — to tire
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. race — the arms race
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. race — a contest

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