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: toast · field · coach · current · ground · tear · pitch · capital

  1. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. toast — bread
  6. tear — from crying
  7. field — a subject
  8. capital — money
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. tear — from crying
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. pitch — completely
  13. ground — a position
  14. capital — a city
  15. current — of water
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. current — electric
  18. tear — to rip
  19. ground — the earth
  20. toast — the most admired
  21. field — for sport
  22. toast — a drink to someone
  23. field — farmland
  24. current — happening now

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