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: kid · shower · pound · vault · branch · land · cap · stock

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  22. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. land — ground
  3. pound — a weight
  4. land — a country
  5. kid — child
  6. branch — of a tree
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. stock — goods
  9. cap — a lid
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — shares
  12. cap — of ice
  13. vault — an arched ceiling
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. vault — in gymnastics
  17. kid — to tease
  18. cap — a hat
  19. vault — a safe
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  22. branch — a division
  23. shower — rain
  24. branch — of a bank

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