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: cell · rush · stock · chair · key · bat · land · trunk

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. stock — goods
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. stock — shares
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. cell — a phone
  8. key — in music
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. key — the most important part
  11. land — a country
  12. chair — a leader
  13. key — for a lock
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. land — to come down
  19. rush — hurry
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. bat — the animal
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. cell — in biology
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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