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: drill · kid · pop · land · season · stock · file · capital

  1. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — a practice
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. stock — shares
  4. capital — a city
  5. pop — soda
  6. kid — child
  7. drill — army training
  8. season — in sport
  9. stock — goods
  10. drill — the tool
  11. land — to come down
  12. kid — to tease
  13. pop — music
  14. land — a country
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. season — of the year
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. pop — to visit
  20. file — a tool
  21. file — a document
  22. file — a line of people
  23. land — ground
  24. capital — money

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