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: present · spring · band · wound · object · staff · stock · capital

  1. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. object — a thing
  3. spring — of water
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. staff — a stick
  6. spring — the season
  7. present — the time now
  8. capital — money
  9. capital — a city
  10. present — a gift
  11. spring — a coil
  12. object — an aim
  13. stock — shares
  14. staff — employees
  15. band — a ring
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. stock — goods
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. band — a music group
  23. staff — employees
  24. present — there

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