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

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. land — a country
  3. rule — a law
  4. land — to come down
  5. spring — a coil
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. stock — goods
  8. spring — of water
  9. craft — a skill
  10. land — ground
  11. craft — boats
  12. field — for sport
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. capital — a city
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. march — music
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. march — the month
  20. rule — government
  21. capital — money
  22. spring — the season
  23. march — the month
  24. rule — to rule out

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