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 116 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: stem · season · bat · shower · track · rock · pitch · clip

  1. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. Did you ________________ the meat?
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sports field
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. bat — the animal
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. season — to add flavour
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. stem — to come from
  8. track — a path
  9. track — a song
  10. shower — to wash
  11. pitch — completely
  12. rock — music
  13. track — to keep track
  14. clip — a video
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — to cut
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. season — of the year
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. shower — rain
  21. season — in sport
  22. rock — a stone
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. stem — a stem cell

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