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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. chest — of your body
  4. tear — from crying
  5. plane — a tool
  6. chest — a box
  7. race — humankind
  8. chest — of your body
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. race — a contest
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. chair — a leader
  13. tear — to rip
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. race — the arms race
  16. last — to go on
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. tear — from crying
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. sharp — clever
  22. last — final
  23. last — finally
  24. chair — to sit on

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