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

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. field — farmland
  3. stock — shares
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. degree — an amount
  7. toast — bread
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. prune — to trim
  12. pitch — completely
  13. capital — a city
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. field — for sport
  16. prune — to trim
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. degree — from a university
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. degree — temperature
  22. field — a subject
  23. capital — money
  24. stock — goods

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