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 120 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: net · capital · chest · shower · leaves · lash · stock · bass

  1. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The ________________ market has crashed.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. capital — a city
  5. stock — a soup base
  6. net — after costs
  7. capital — money
  8. stock — shares
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. net — in sport
  12. bass — low music
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. chest — a box
  17. net — for catching
  18. stock — goods
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. shower — rain
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. bass — the fish
  24. chest — of your body

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