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: hide · cold · spell · spring · band · stock · wound · rush

  1. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — a soup base
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. band — a music group
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. spell — magic
  7. band — a ring
  8. wound — an injury
  9. spell — a short time
  10. spring — a coil
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. stock — shares
  15. stock — goods
  16. spring — the season
  17. cold — not warm
  18. spring — of water
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. wound — an injury
  21. spell — letters
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. rush — hurry
  24. hide — to keep secret

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