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 120 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: court · land · deal · pound · pit · leaves · clip · stock

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  5. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. clip — to cut
  5. leaves — to go away
  6. stock — goods
  7. pound — a weight
  8. pit — a hole
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. land — ground
  11. deal — to handle
  12. court — for sport
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. court — of law
  15. clip — a video
  16. pit — in a race
  17. land — to come down
  18. court — of a king
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. land — a country
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  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