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 · wax · pitch · racket · content · perch · stand · arm

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  12. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. content — happy
  7. perch — the fish
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. stand — to bear
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. wax — to grow
  19. pitch — completely
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  24. content — the amount

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