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: prune · field · pop · content · cap · pitch · straw · season

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. cap — a hat
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. prune — to trim
  5. field — farmland
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. pop — to visit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. pitch — a sales talk
  10. cap — a lid
  11. field — a subject
  12. cap — of ice
  13. season — of the year
  14. pitch — completely
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. field — for sport
  17. content — the amount
  18. season — in sport
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. pop — soda
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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