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 · content · track · stock · cell · rule · rock · firm

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. The ________________ market has crashed.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. rule — government
  3. field — a subject
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. rock — music
  7. track — a song
  8. field — farmland
  9. rule — a law
  10. cell — in biology
  11. stock — goods
  12. stock — shares
  13. field — for sport
  14. content — the amount
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. firm — steady
  18. firm — decided
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. track — to keep track
  21. rock — a stone
  22. cell — a phone
  23. track — a path
  24. firm — a company

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