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

  1. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  2. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. degree — an amount
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cold — not warm
  5. cold — an illness
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. roll — a list
  9. march — music
  10. degree — from a university
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. kid — to tease
  13. march — the month
  14. march — the month
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. degree — temperature
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. roll — a cake
  24. kid — child

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