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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. land — ground
  3. land — to come down
  4. spring — of water
  5. swing — to play on
  6. net — in sport
  7. stock — shares
  8. swing — music
  9. net — after costs
  10. field — farmland
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. land — a country
  13. field — for sport
  14. march — music
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. stock — a soup base
  17. stock — goods
  18. swing — in golf
  19. march — the month
  20. spring — a coil
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. march — the month
  23. field — a subject
  24. net — for catching

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