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: stick · bowl · row · mate · land · straw · drill · field

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. field — a subject
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. land — ground
  5. row — a line
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. mate — a partner
  9. row — to paddle
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. drill — a practice
  13. mate — a friend
  14. mate — to breed
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. land — to come down
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. bowl — a dish
  19. drill — army training
  20. land — a country
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — for sport
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. drill — the tool

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