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: mark · pit · fine · kid · land · stock · mine · file

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. fine — all right
  3. kid — to tease
  4. file — a tool
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. mark — a trace
  7. file — a document
  8. mine — for digging
  9. kid — child
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. stock — shares
  12. mine — belonging to me
  13. land — a country
  14. stock — goods
  15. pit — a hole
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. file — a line of people
  18. land — to come down
  19. land — ground
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. mark — a grade
  22. pit — in a race
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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