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 116 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: stock · kid · prune · capital · swing · race

  1. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.

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

Answer key

  1. prune — to trim
  2. capital — a city
  3. race — humankind
  4. stock — goods
  5. kid — child
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. race — the arms race
  8. capital — money
  9. stock — shares
  10. kid — to tease
  11. swing — music
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. race — a contest
  14. swing — to play on
  15. swing — in golf
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. prune — to trim

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