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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. field — farmland
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. march — the month
  5. wound — an injury
  6. row — to paddle
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. march — the month
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. field — for sport
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. fall — to drop
  13. pitch — completely
  14. fall — the season
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. march — music
  18. row — a line
  19. fall — to drop
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. field — a subject
  24. wound — an injury

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