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 120 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 players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  14. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. The ________________ market has crashed.
  18. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. perch — for a bird
  3. spring — of water
  4. perch — for a bird
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. field — a subject
  7. season — in sport
  8. bass — low music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. field — farmland
  11. perch — the fish
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. stock — goods
  14. stock — a soup base
  15. hand — help
  16. field — for sport
  17. stock — shares
  18. pitch — completely
  19. bass — the fish
  20. spring — the season
  21. season — of the year
  22. hand — in cards
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. spring — a coil

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