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: pitcher · capital · mine · file · march · scale · land · fine

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. He is an ace ________________.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. pitcher — in baseball
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. march — music
  7. land — to come down
  8. fine — all right
  9. march — the month
  10. file — a line of people
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. capital — money
  13. land — ground
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. capital — a city
  16. mine — for digging
  17. scale — size or range
  18. file — a document
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. scale — in music
  21. land — a country
  22. march — the month
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. fine — high quality

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