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 · band · plane · last · land · mine · court · object

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ball is in your ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. last — final
  3. land — to come down
  4. court — for sport
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. land — ground
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. land — a country
  11. last — to go on
  12. last — finally
  13. object — a thing
  14. plane — a tool
  15. stock — a soup base
  16. stock — goods
  17. object — an aim
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. mine — for digging
  20. stock — shares
  21. court — of law
  22. court — of a king
  23. object — to protest
  24. plane — an aircraft

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