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: season · game · dip · hand · staff · pitcher · cold · bat

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. dip — to dunk
  3. season — of the year
  4. staff — employees
  5. season — in sport
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. bat — for baseball
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. game — wild animals
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. hand — help
  14. cold — not warm
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. staff — a stick
  17. hand — in cards
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. staff — employees
  21. game — a match
  22. dip — to sink
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. dip — a sauce

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