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: tube · board · pound · march · tear · stock · scale · land

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. tear — to rip
  4. stock — goods
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. land — ground
  7. pound — a weight
  8. tear — from crying
  9. march — the month
  10. tube — a container
  11. tube — the underground
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. tear — from crying
  15. march — the month
  16. scale — in music
  17. board — to get on
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. march — music
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. board — a committee
  22. land — a country
  23. scale — size or range
  24. stock — shares

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