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: degree · coach · cold · cue · fan · field · racket · object

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  16. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. field — a subject
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. object — an aim
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. cue — a signal
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. degree — from a university
  10. cold — an illness
  11. fan — to cool the air
  12. cue — for pool
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. object — a thing
  16. racket — a loud noise
  17. cold — not warm
  18. degree — temperature
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. object — to protest
  21. field — for sport
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cue — a hint
  24. field — farmland

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