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. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. field — a subject
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — a line
  10. craft — a handicraft
  11. field — farmland
  12. shower — to wash
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. capital — money
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. craft — a skill
  18. row — to paddle
  19. pitch — completely
  20. field — for sport
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. craft — boats
  23. shower — rain
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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