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: bat · land · pit · bay · band · stock · saw · hand

  1. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. land — a country
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — in a race
  6. band — a music group
  7. saw — the tool
  8. land — ground
  9. saw — the tool
  10. pit — a fruit stone
  11. hand — in cards
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. band — a ring
  16. hand — help
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. land — to come down
  21. bat — the animal
  22. bay — to keep at bay
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bay — a horse colour

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