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: field · key · pound · chair · stand · kid · mine · stock

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. key — for a lock
  3. stock — goods
  4. stand — to bear
  5. key — the most important part
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. mine — for digging
  8. kid — to tease
  9. stock — shares
  10. kid — child
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. pound — a weight
  14. field — a subject
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. field — farmland
  18. field — for sport
  19. key — in music
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. chair — a professorship
  24. mine — belonging to me

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