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: fan · net · wound · last · pitch · kid · swing · game

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. swing — in golf
  5. net — in sport
  6. last — to go on
  7. last — finally
  8. net — after costs
  9. swing — music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. game — a match
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. swing — to play on
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. net — for catching
  18. last — final
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. kid — child
  21. pitch — completely
  22. game — wild animals
  23. pitch — a sports field
  24. kid — to tease

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