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: pound · snap · racket · patient · court · pitch · race · straw

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  3. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. racket — a loud noise
  3. pound — a weight
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. pitch — completely
  9. court — of a king
  10. racket — for tennis
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. snap — to click
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. race — humankind
  17. race — the arms race
  18. race — a contest
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. court — of law
  22. pound — to hit hard
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. court — for sport

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