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: spell · capital · plane · stock · chest · cap · track · land

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. capital — a city
  3. capital — money
  4. track — to keep track
  5. track — a song
  6. stock — goods
  7. spell — magic
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. spell — a short time
  10. chest — of your body
  11. land — a country
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. chest — a box
  15. chest — of your body
  16. spell — letters
  17. cap — of ice
  18. cap — a hat
  19. cap — a lid
  20. land — to come down
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. track — a path
  23. capital — a big letter
  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