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: bark · roll · band · racket · court · cold · swing · pop

  1. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.

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

Answer key

  1. bark — to shout
  2. pop — music
  3. bark — a dog's sound
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. racket — a loud noise
  6. band — a music group
  7. court — for sport
  8. cold — not warm
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. swing — music
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cold — an illness
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. pop — soda
  16. band — a ring
  17. pop — to visit
  18. swing — to play on
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. court — of a king
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. roll — a list
  23. roll — a cake
  24. court — of law

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