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: cold · dip · rash · perch · board · game · field · swing

  1. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. swing — in golf
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. field — for sport
  7. game — wild animals
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. board — to get on
  10. board — a committee
  11. dip — to sink
  12. field — a subject
  13. swing — to play on
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. swing — music
  17. field — farmland
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rash — hasty
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. game — a match
  22. rash — a series
  23. perch — the fish
  24. cold — an illness

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