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 · chest · capital · press · branch · spell · bulb · field

  1. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. The light ________________ burned out.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a big letter
  2. chest — of your body
  3. spell — letters
  4. bulb — for light
  5. chest — of your body
  6. field — a subject
  7. spell — magic
  8. capital — money
  9. press — a publisher
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. spell — a short time
  14. pound — a weight
  15. branch — a division
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. field — farmland
  18. press — newspapers
  19. chest — a box
  20. capital — a city
  21. press — to push
  22. field — for sport
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

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