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

Word bank: stock · capital · cell · lean · pitch · bat · present · chip

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. The ________________ market has crashed.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. present — there
  3. stock — shares
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. capital — a city
  6. chip — to eat
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. present — the time now
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. present — a gift
  11. cell — in biology
  12. chip — for betting
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. pitch — completely
  15. chip — in a computer
  16. lean — to bend
  17. cell — a phone
  18. capital — money
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. lean — thin
  21. lean — to rest against
  22. stock — goods
  23. bat — the animal
  24. bat — for baseball

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