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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: field · pitcher · row · squash · hand · pass · wind · roll

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. pass — a permit
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. field — a subject
  6. squash — to crush
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wind — moving air
  11. roll — a list
  12. roll — a cake
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. hand — in cards
  15. field — farmland
  16. row — a line
  17. hand — help
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. squash — the sport
  22. row — to paddle
  23. wind — moving air
  24. pass — to spend time

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