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 116 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 · prune · mate · field · land · march · patient · nail

  1. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. The ________________ market has crashed.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. mate — a partner
  3. nail — on a finger
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. land — ground
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. mate — to breed
  8. stock — goods
  9. march — the month
  10. field — farmland
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mate — a friend
  15. field — for sport
  16. stock — shares
  17. land — to come down
  18. march — music
  19. field — a subject
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. prune — to trim
  22. land — a country
  23. prune — to trim
  24. prune — the fruit

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