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: stock · capital · mine · sharp · nail · march · board · ball

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. capital — money
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. capital — a city
  6. march — the month
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. sharp — clever
  9. march — music
  10. board — a committee
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. mine — for digging
  14. ball — a great time
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. ball — a dance
  18. stock — goods
  19. board — to get on
  20. stock — shares
  21. march — the month
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. nail — for a hammer

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