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: sharp · season · coach · wind · wake · mine · pitch · field

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. field — farmland
  6. season — in sport
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. wake — a trail
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. wind — moving air
  14. field — a subject
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. season — of the year
  20. mine — for digging
  21. wind — moving air
  22. pitch — completely
  23. sharp — clever
  24. sharp — with an edge

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