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: capital · racket · prune · field · ruler · bark · cabinet · cold

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. capital — a city
  3. prune — to trim
  4. ruler — a monarch
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. capital — money
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. cold — an illness
  10. field — for sport
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. prune — to trim
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. cold — not warm
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. cabinet — ministers
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. cold — the Cold War

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