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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. stock — shares
  3. can — a tin
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. prune — to trim
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. can — a tin
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. spring — of water
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. prune — to trim
  14. stock — goods
  15. field — farmland
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. field — for sport
  18. row — a line
  19. spring — the season
  20. field — a subject
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. can — to be able to
  23. row — to paddle
  24. spring — a coil

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