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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  24. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. mark — to pay attention
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. capital — a city
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. mate — a partner
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. stock — goods
  11. mark — a grade
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. capital — money
  14. pound — to hit hard
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pitch — completely
  17. mark — a trace
  18. mate — a friend
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. degree — an amount
  21. mate — to breed
  22. degree — temperature
  23. degree — from a university
  24. straw — dry grass

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