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. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  22. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. chest — a box
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. race — humankind
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. bat — the animal
  14. pitch — a sales talk
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. pitch — completely
  17. face — to point toward
  18. face — to confront
  19. face — part of the head
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. race — a contest
  22. stick — a piece of wood
  23. race — the arms race
  24. bowl — a dish

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