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: stock · key · hand · mine · plane · spring · capital · roll

  1. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ market has crashed.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. This piece is in a major ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. spring — a coil
  3. stock — goods
  4. stock — shares
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. key — the most important part
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. hand — help
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. roll — a cake
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. mine — for digging
  17. plane — a tool
  18. key — in music
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. spring — the season
  21. roll — a list
  22. hand — in cards
  23. capital — money
  24. key — for a lock

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