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: board · face · cabinet · capital · squash · foot · cold · field

  1. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. What do you think of the new ________________?
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. foot — a measure
  2. capital — money
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. board — to get on
  5. capital — a city
  6. board — a committee
  7. face — part of the head
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. face — to confront
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. field — for sport
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. squash — to crush
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. squash — the sport
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. cabinet — ministers
  20. field — a subject
  21. face — to point toward
  22. cold — an illness
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. field — farmland

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