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. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. Have you met the new head ________________?
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. rush — hurry
  3. chair — a leader
  4. wind — moving air
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. lie — to recline
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. chest — of your body
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. wind — moving air
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. chest — a box
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. chest — of your body
  24. temple — side of the head

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