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 120 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: racket · cell · stem · last · spell · capital · pitch · file

  1. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  2. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  3. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. capital — a city
  2. stem — of a plant
  3. spell — a short time
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. spell — letters
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. last — final
  10. file — a tool
  11. capital — money
  12. file — a line of people
  13. stem — to come from
  14. file — a document
  15. spell — magic
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. last — finally
  18. cell — a phone
  19. last — to go on
  20. pitch — completely
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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