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. The ball is in your ________________.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  15. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. court — for sport
  2. bank — for money
  3. swing — in golf
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. swing — to play on
  10. march — music
  11. swing — music
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — to crush
  15. bank — of a river
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. march — the month
  19. court — of a king
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bank — for money
  22. court — of law
  23. march — the month
  24. coach — a trainer

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