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: net · board · bat · cold · deal · swing · hide · march

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  5. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  6. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. hide — animal skin
  3. swing — music
  4. board — to get on
  5. bat — for baseball
  6. board — a flat piece
  7. cold — not warm
  8. cold — an illness
  9. march — music
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. board — a committee
  13. bat — the animal
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. net — in sport
  17. net — for catching
  18. deal — to handle
  19. deal — an agreement
  20. march — the month
  21. march — the month
  22. net — after costs
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. swing — in golf

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