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 ________________ market has crashed.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  18. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. field — a subject
  3. bank — of a river
  4. stock — goods
  5. swing — in golf
  6. bank — for money
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. present — a gift
  15. mine — for digging
  16. swing — music
  17. pitch — completely
  18. present — the time now
  19. swing — to play on
  20. field — farmland
  21. bank — for money
  22. field — for sport
  23. present — there
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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