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 116 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: suit · club · bat · field · pitcher · pop · cold · season

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. pop — music
  3. pop — soda
  4. pop — to visit
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. club — for dancing
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. cold — an illness
  9. club — a group
  10. field — farmland
  11. suit — in cards
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. suit — to fit
  14. field — for sport
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. season — in sport
  19. field — a subject
  20. season — of the year
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. club — for golf
  23. suit — clothes
  24. bat — the animal

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