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: pound · court · calf · pitch · last · stock · season · cold

  1. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. Did you ________________ the meat?
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. season — of the year
  2. cold — an illness
  3. court — for sport
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. last — to go on
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pitch — completely
  8. last — finally
  9. stock — shares
  10. calf — of the leg
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. stock — goods
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. court — of law
  15. pound — a weight
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. season — to add flavour
  18. cold — not warm
  19. court — of a king
  20. last — final
  21. pound — to hit hard
  22. season — in sport
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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