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: hand · trunk · net · cold · straw · rule · stock · toast

  1. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. net — after costs
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. trunk — of a car
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. stock — shares
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. hand — help
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. hand — in cards
  13. toast — a drink to someone
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. stock — goods
  16. toast — bread
  17. cold — an illness
  18. rule — a law
  19. rule — government
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. cold — not warm

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