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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. cold — an illness
  3. squash — the sport
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. rock — a stone
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. swing — music
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. rock — music
  10. court — for sport
  11. swing — in golf
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. rock — to move gently
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. squash — to crush
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. fan — to cool the air
  19. cold — not warm
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. court — of law
  22. content — happy
  23. court — of a king
  24. cold — the Cold War

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