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: date · land · present · stock · chair · capital · cue · game

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. land — ground
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. present — there
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. present — a gift
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. cue — a signal
  10. stock — goods
  11. capital — money
  12. land — a country
  13. capital — a city
  14. game — wild animals
  15. land — to come down
  16. cue — for pool
  17. cue — a hint
  18. present — the time now
  19. date — the fruit
  20. stock — shares
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. chair — a leader
  24. chair — a professorship

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