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 · pitch · chest · hand · hide · field · ball · cue

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  5. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The King held a masked ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  22. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  23. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. cue — a signal
  3. ball — a great time
  4. pitch — a sales talk
  5. net — after costs
  6. field — a subject
  7. net — for catching
  8. pitch — completely
  9. cue — for pool
  10. hand — in cards
  11. chest — of your body
  12. field — for sport
  13. cue — a hint
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. chest — a box
  16. ball — a dance
  17. net — in sport
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. hand — help
  20. field — farmland
  21. hide — to keep secret
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. ball — a round shape
  24. pitch — a sports field

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