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: arm · pitch · court · field · fan · chair · lean · stock

  1. The ________________ market has crashed.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stock — shares
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. court — of law
  4. chair — a leader
  5. court — of a king
  6. field — farmland
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. pitch — completely
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. lean — thin
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. stock — goods
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. court — for sport
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. lean — to bend
  22. field — for sport
  23. field — a subject
  24. chair — a professorship

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