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: squash · bass · march · face · stock · hand · prune · field

  1. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — the fruit
  2. hand — help
  3. hand — in cards
  4. face — to confront
  5. field — a subject
  6. face — to point toward
  7. squash — the sport
  8. march — music
  9. stock — goods
  10. squash — to crush
  11. field — farmland
  12. bass — the fish
  13. march — the month
  14. face — part of the head
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. stock — shares
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — to trim
  19. march — the month
  20. field — for sport
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. bass — low music
  23. squash — the vegetable
  24. bass — the instrument

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