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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The ________________ market has crashed.
  7. He is an ace ________________.
  8. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  9. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  10. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Where did you ________________ them?
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. board — a committee
  3. clip — a video
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. row — a line
  6. stock — shares
  7. pitcher — in baseball
  8. board — to get on
  9. stock — a soup base
  10. stock — goods
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. mug — to rob
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. clip — to cut
  20. mug — a cup
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. row — to paddle
  24. mug — a face

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