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: field · sharp · pitch · wax · board · shower · coach · file

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  5. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a committee
  2. wax — to grow
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. wax — in the ear
  5. shower — to wash
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. shower — rain
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. sharp — clever
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. file — a document
  16. field — a subject
  17. file — a line of people
  18. board — to get on
  19. field — farmland
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. pitch — completely
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. field — for sport
  24. file — a 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