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: stock · shower · row · hide · ball · file · kid · rock

  1. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. The King held a masked ________________.
  14. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — to move gently
  2. stock — goods
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. shower — to wash
  5. rock — a stone
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. kid — to tease
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. row — to paddle
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. ball — a dance
  14. rock — music
  15. file — a tool
  16. row — a line
  17. kid — child
  18. shower — rain
  19. file — a document
  20. file — a line of people
  21. ball — a great time
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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