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. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  14. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. arm — a part of something
  4. chair — a leader
  5. land — ground
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. land — a country
  8. game — a match
  9. wax — to grow
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. land — to come down
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. cap — a hat
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. hand — help
  19. cap — of ice
  20. cap — a lid
  21. hand — in cards
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. game — wild animals
  24. patient — a sick person

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