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: field · stick · land · straw · pitcher · file · arm · bear

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. land — ground
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. land — a country
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. file — a document
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. file — a tool
  11. field — a subject
  12. arm — a part of something
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. straw — dry grass
  18. land — to come down
  19. bear — the animal
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. file — a line of people
  22. field — farmland
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. field — for sport

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