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

Word bank: cold · toast · scale · ruler · stock · capital

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  11. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. capital — money
  3. stock — goods
  4. cold — an illness
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. toast — bread
  8. cold — not warm
  9. scale — size or range
  10. ruler — for measuring
  11. toast — a drink to someone
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. scale — in music
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. capital — a city
  18. cold — the Cold War

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