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

Word bank: mine · cold · dip · pass · coach · field · bark · ball

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  24. The kitten curled into a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. field — a subject
  3. cold — not warm
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. pass — to spend time
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. pass — a permit
  8. field — farmland
  9. dip — to sink
  10. mine — for digging
  11. cold — an illness
  12. coach — pulled by horses
  13. field — for sport
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. ball — a great time
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. ball — a dance
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — of a tree
  24. ball — a round shape

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