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: hide · field · stock · racket · capital · calf · rash · chest

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. capital — money
  3. field — farmland
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. stock — shares
  10. stock — a soup base
  11. chest — of your body
  12. stock — goods
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. rash — hasty
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. field — for sport
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. rash — a series
  22. field — a subject
  23. chest — of your body
  24. chest — a box

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