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 met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. That was ________________ to happen.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  17. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. bound — obliged
  3. field — farmland
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. pitch — completely
  7. mine — for digging
  8. craft — boats
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. bound — tied together
  11. field — for sport
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. bound — certain
  14. clip — for paper
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. chip — for betting
  17. clip — to cut
  18. field — a subject
  19. craft — a skill
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — a sales talk
  22. clip — a video
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. chip — to eat

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