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: kid · file · stock · wound · pop · leaves · rest · wake

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. The ________________ change colour in autumn.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. wake — to stop sleeping
  3. pop — soda
  4. stock — goods
  5. file — a tool
  6. rest — a break
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stock — shares
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. wake — a trail
  13. file — a document
  14. pop — to visit
  15. leaves — lets stay
  16. file — a line of people
  17. stock — a soup base
  18. kid — child
  19. pop — music
  20. rest — what's left
  21. wound — an injury
  22. rest — what's left
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. leaves — of a tree

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