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 ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  8. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. What's the difference between broth and ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. field — for sport
  3. net — for catching
  4. fall — the season
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. mate — a partner
  7. net — after costs
  8. mate — to breed
  9. fall — to drop
  10. last — finally
  11. stock — goods
  12. fall — to drop
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. mate — a friend
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. last — to go on
  18. field — a subject
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. last — final
  21. stock — shares
  22. mine — for digging
  23. field — farmland
  24. stock — a soup base

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