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'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  4. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  14. The ________________ market has crashed.
  15. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. field — farmland
  3. stock — a soup base
  4. bank — of a river
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. bank — for money
  7. field — a subject
  8. pitch — completely
  9. board — to get on
  10. hand — help
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. root — of a plant
  14. stock — shares
  15. bank — for money
  16. root — of a word
  17. root — the cause
  18. hand — in cards
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. stock — goods
  23. field — for sport
  24. board — a flat piece

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