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
Word bank
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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: degree Β· foot Β· content Β· rush Β· field Β· capital

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. That must've been a ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. capital β€” a city
  2. field β€” for sport
  3. rush β€” hurry
  4. field β€” farmland
  5. field β€” a subject
  6. content β€” the amount
  7. capital β€” money
  8. rush β€” to hurry
  9. degree β€” temperature
  10. foot β€” a measure
  11. foot β€” the bottom
  12. degree β€” from a university
  13. foot β€” part of the body
  14. content β€” videos and posts
  15. rush β€” a thrill
  16. content β€” happy
  17. degree β€” an amount
  18. capital β€” a big letter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those 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