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 · hide · bass · spring · stock · chair · mate · net

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. bass — low music
  3. stock — goods
  4. net — after costs
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — the fish
  7. capital — money
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. net — for catching
  10. hide — animal skin
  11. chair — a leader
  12. spring — the season
  13. spring — a coil
  14. mate — a friend
  15. net — in sport
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. capital — a city
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. mate — a partner
  22. mate — to breed
  23. spring — of water
  24. hide — to keep secret

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