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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. current — of water
  3. land — to come down
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. capital — a city
  6. stock — goods
  7. land — ground
  8. fork — in a road
  9. club — a group
  10. stock — shares
  11. club — for dancing
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. wind — moving air
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. club — for golf
  16. capital — money
  17. current — electric
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. land — a country
  20. current — happening now
  21. row — to paddle
  22. row — a line
  23. fork — a garden tool
  24. wind — moving air

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