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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  5. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — pulled by horses
  2. chest — of your body
  3. cold — not warm
  4. bank — for money
  5. stem — of a plant
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. stem — to come from
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. court — for sport
  10. bank — of a river
  11. chip — for betting
  12. chest — a box
  13. cold — an illness
  14. craft — boats
  15. chip — to eat
  16. craft — a skill
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. bank — for money
  21. court — of law
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. court — of a king
  24. chest — of your body

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