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: hand · bark · object · degree · net · chest · racket · coach

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. hand — help
  4. degree — from a university
  5. net — in sport
  6. degree — an amount
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. net — for catching
  9. hand — in cards
  10. object — an aim
  11. degree — temperature
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. bark — of a tree
  15. chest — a box
  16. object — to protest
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. chest — of your body
  19. object — a thing
  20. net — after costs
  21. chest — of your body
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. bark — to shout

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