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 120 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: hide · cold · bark · rock · coach · spring · court · bay

  1. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  13. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. spring — a coil
  3. bark — of a tree
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. cold — not warm
  6. court — of a king
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. rock — a stone
  9. spring — of water
  10. court — for sport
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bay — to keep at bay
  13. hide — animal skin
  14. court — of law
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. bark — to shout
  19. cold — an illness
  20. bay — a part of the sea
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. rock — to move gently
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. spring — the season

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