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: sharp · stock · deal · bass · cap · net · cold · court

  1. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — to handle
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. court — of a king
  5. stock — shares
  6. bass — the fish
  7. cold — an illness
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. net — in sport
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. cap — a hat
  12. sharp — clever
  13. court — of law
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cap — a lid
  16. net — for catching
  17. stock — goods
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bass — low music
  21. deal — a big deal
  22. court — for sport
  23. net — after costs
  24. cold — not warm

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