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: net · capital · lie · chest · wax · stock · pitcher · field

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. net — for catching
  4. chest — of your body
  5. capital — a city
  6. lie — to recline
  7. stock — goods
  8. field — for sport
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. field — farmland
  12. net — in sport
  13. wax — to grow
  14. chest — a box
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. capital — money
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. net — after costs
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. field — a subject
  22. stock — shares
  23. chest — of your body
  24. stock — a soup base

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