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: pound · kick · capital · field · kid · branch · racket · roll

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. pound — a weight
  3. field — a subject
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. branch — a division
  7. roll — a list
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. roll — a cake
  10. kick — in football
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. kid — to tease
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. capital — a city
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. field — for sport
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. capital — money
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. field — farmland
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. pound — for dogs

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