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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  11. David sat on the ________________.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bear — the animal
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. fine — all right
  5. staff — employees
  6. staff — a stick
  7. scale — in music
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. staff — employees
  11. swing — to play on
  12. bat — the animal
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. scale — size or range
  15. chest — of your body
  16. field — a subject
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. fine — high quality
  19. swing — in golf
  20. field — farmland
  21. swing — music
  22. chest — a box
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. field — for sport

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