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

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. wound — an injury
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. field — for sport
  7. game — a match
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. kick — in football
  11. wound — an injury
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. field — farmland
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. fork — in a road
  16. fork — to eat with
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. field — a subject
  19. game — wild animals
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. chair — to sit on
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. chair — a professorship

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