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: date · stock · club · perch · pitcher · kid · present · pound

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. club — for golf
  3. kid — child
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. pound — a weight
  6. date — the fruit
  7. perch — the fish
  8. stock — goods
  9. club — a group
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. present — there
  13. club — for dancing
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. stock — shares
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. present — the time now
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. date — on the calendar

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