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: straw · bear · stem · wound · cold · net · patient · racket

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. net — in sport
  5. bear — the animal
  6. cold — an illness
  7. net — for catching
  8. cold — not warm
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. wound — an injury
  11. bear — the animal
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. stem — to come from
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. net — after costs
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. wound — an injury

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