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: face · band · capital · stock · tube · stand · mine · kid

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. capital — money
  3. tube — in a tire
  4. capital — a city
  5. kid — child
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. face — to confront
  8. mine — for digging
  9. face — to point toward
  10. face — part of the head
  11. tube — the underground
  12. band — a ring
  13. stock — a soup base
  14. band — a music group
  15. stock — goods
  16. stock — shares
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. stand — to bear
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. kid — to tease
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. tube — a container
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. stand — on your feet

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