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: mine · bowl · cue · ground · patient · wind · bark · pitch

  1. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  2. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  3. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  8. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  9. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. cue — a hint
  2. pitch — a sports field
  3. cue — a signal
  4. mine — for digging
  5. bark — of a tree
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. patient — calm and waiting
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. bowl — to roll
  10. ground — crushed
  11. bowl — a football final
  12. cue — for pool
  13. pitch — completely
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bark — to shout
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. wind — moving air
  19. pitch — a sales talk
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. ground — a position
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. ground — the earth

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