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. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — completely
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. field — for sport
  6. perch — for a bird
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. field — a subject
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. pound — a weight
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. band — a ring
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. stock — goods
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. perch — the fish
  22. band — a music group
  23. stock — shares
  24. field — farmland

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