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: cap · race · stock · bass · cold · bat · pop · chip

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. You don't need to ________________ round.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. chip — in a computer
  3. bat — the animal
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. stock — shares
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. race — humankind
  9. bass — low music
  10. cold — not warm
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. chip — to eat
  15. cap — of ice
  16. race — the arms race
  17. pop — soda
  18. bass — the fish
  19. cap — a hat
  20. pop — to visit
  21. chip — for betting
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. race — a contest

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