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 120 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: cabinet · hide · racket · cold · perch · pitch · pitcher · bark

  1. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bark — to shout
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. hide — to keep secret
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. hide — animal skin
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. perch — the fish
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. pitch — completely
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. perch — for a bird

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