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. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. stock — shares
  3. stock — goods
  4. ground — the earth
  5. key — the most important part
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. capital — a city
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. key — for a lock
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. ground — crushed
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. ground — a position
  16. shower — rain
  17. key — in music
  18. field — farmland
  19. stock — a soup base
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. field — a subject
  22. capital — money
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. shower — to wash

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