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 · stock · root · cold · present · content · game · pitch

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. stock — goods
  4. game — wild animals
  5. present — the time now
  6. root — the cause
  7. root — of a word
  8. capital — a city
  9. present — a gift
  10. game — a match
  11. cold — not warm
  12. content — the amount
  13. capital — money
  14. capital — a big letter
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. root — of a plant
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. cold — an illness
  20. present — there
  21. stock — shares
  22. pitch — completely
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. content — happy

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