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: press · spell · field · land · capital · coach · band · fine

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. Did you ________________ the button?
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. land — to come down
  4. field — a subject
  5. fine — all right
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. field — for sport
  8. land — ground
  9. capital — a city
  10. press — to push
  11. fine — high quality
  12. band — a ring
  13. land — a country
  14. capital — money
  15. press — newspapers
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. press — a publisher
  19. field — farmland
  20. band — a music group
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. spell — magic
  23. spell — a short time
  24. spell — letters

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