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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. field — for sport
  3. key — in music
  4. court — of law
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. key — the most important part
  7. court — of a king
  8. court — for sport
  9. clip — for paper
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. clip — to cut
  12. key — for a lock
  13. field — farmland
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. season — in sport
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. field — a subject
  23. clip — a video
  24. perch — the fish

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