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: pitch · cue · date · wound · swing · degree · branch · field

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. cue — a signal
  3. wound — an injury
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. field — a subject
  6. swing — music
  7. branch — a division
  8. date — the fruit
  9. pitch — completely
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. cue — for pool
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. swing — to play on
  14. field — farmland
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. wound — an injury
  17. cue — a hint
  18. field — for sport
  19. degree — temperature
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. degree — from a university
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. swing — in golf

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