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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. She's very handy with a ________________.
  5. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Have you met the new head ________________?
  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. chair — to sit on
  2. chair — a leader
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — the tool
  5. fan — to cool the air
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. cap — of ice
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. rest — what's left
  12. rest — what's left
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. cap — a lid
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. rest — a break
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. content — happy
  19. coach — pulled by horses
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. mine — for digging
  22. cap — a hat
  23. coach — a trainer
  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