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. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I can't ________________ this cold.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — for spectators
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. pitch — a sports field
  6. bear — the animal
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. bear — the animal
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. stock — goods
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stock — shares
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. saw — the tool
  17. stand — to bear
  18. cold — an illness
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. pitch — completely
  21. saw — the tool
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. bat — the animal

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