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: bowl · club · clip · fine · stock · mouse · capital · cold

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. cold — an illness
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. bowl — a dish
  5. club — for dancing
  6. capital — money
  7. stock — goods
  8. fine — all right
  9. mouse — the animal
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. club — for golf
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stock — shares
  14. mouse — for a computer
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. capital — a city
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. clip — a video
  20. bowl — a football final
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. club — a group
  24. stock — a soup base

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