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: stock · chest · squash · pop · rash · band · capital · mate

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. capital — a city
  3. stock — goods
  4. pop — soda
  5. squash — the vegetable
  6. pop — to visit
  7. rash — hasty
  8. chest — of your body
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. squash — the sport
  11. band — a music group
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. capital — money
  14. pop — music
  15. mate — a friend
  16. chest — of your body
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. mate — to breed
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. mate — a partner
  21. squash — to crush
  22. band — a ring
  23. rash — a series
  24. stock — shares

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