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: land · prune · field · nail · rule · stock · staff · capital

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. staff — employees
  3. land — a country
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. staff — employees
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. stock — shares
  9. capital — money
  10. capital — a city
  11. stock — goods
  12. prune — to trim
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. prune — to trim
  15. staff — a stick
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. field — a subject
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — for sport
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. land — ground
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. rule — government
  24. rule — a law

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