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 · stock · coach · pitch · bat · court · roll · rash

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. We're on a ________________ here.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. The ________________ market has crashed.
  12. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. roll — on a roll
  3. court — of law
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. roll — a cake
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. pound — a weight
  11. stock — shares
  12. pitch — a sales talk
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — for sport
  15. stock — goods
  16. pitch — completely
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. rash — a series
  20. bat — the animal
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. roll — a list
  24. rash — hasty

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