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: kid · march · field · craft · date · stock · mine · bass

  1. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  13. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — a subject
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. march — music
  4. stock — goods
  5. bass — low music
  6. field — for sport
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. mine — for digging
  10. stock — shares
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. date — the fruit
  13. craft — boats
  14. march — the month
  15. craft — a skill
  16. kid — child
  17. craft — a handicraft
  18. march — the month
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. kid — to tease
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. field — farmland
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bass — the fish

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