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 116 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. field — a subject
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. field — farmland
  8. clip — for paper
  9. root — the cause
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. clip — a video
  12. clip — to cut
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. field — for sport
  15. trunk — of an elephant
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. stock — goods
  18. root — of a word
  19. wake — a trail
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. trunk — of a car
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. root — of a plant
  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