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: shower · field · capital · pop · coach · lash · stock · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. You don't need to ________________ round.
  15. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. stock — goods
  3. field — for sport
  4. lash — to lash out
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. pop — soda
  9. capital — money
  10. field — farmland
  11. lash — an eyelash
  12. capital — a city
  13. stock — shares
  14. pop — to visit
  15. chair — to sit on
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. shower — rain
  18. shower — to wash
  19. shower — a meteor shower
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. coach — pulled by horses
  22. pop — music
  23. field — a subject
  24. lash — a whip stroke

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