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: wave · cold · bark · vault · kid · coach · hand · bat

  1. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — a dog's sound
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. kid — child
  6. hand — help
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. kid — to tease
  11. hand — in cards
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. vault — a safe
  14. wave — a sudden rise
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. bark — to shout
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. cold — an illness
  21. cold — not warm
  22. bat — the animal
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. bat — in an idiom

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