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: pitcher · press · stock · wound · capital · fork · season · fine

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. The ________________ market has crashed.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. He is an ace ________________.
  20. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. season — in sport
  3. capital — a city
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. stock — shares
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. wound — an injury
  9. press — to push
  10. press — a publisher
  11. press — newspapers
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. capital — money
  16. fine — all right
  17. season — of the year
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. pitcher — in baseball
  20. stock — goods
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fork — in a road
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

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