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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. staff — employees
  3. staff — a stick
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. tear — to rip
  6. land — a country
  7. stock — shares
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. board — to get on
  10. plane — a tool
  11. board — a committee
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. stock — goods
  14. tear — from crying
  15. swing — music
  16. swing — to play on
  17. spring — the season
  18. tear — from crying
  19. spring — a coil
  20. spring — of water
  21. staff — employees
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. land — to come down
  24. swing — in golf

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