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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  9. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. roll — a list
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. stem — to come from
  7. game — a match
  8. stem — of a plant
  9. kick — with a leg
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. kick — in football
  14. wake — a trail
  15. game — wild animals
  16. court — for sport
  17. chest — a box
  18. roll — a cake
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. coach — pulled by horses
  21. court — of a king
  22. court — of law
  23. stem — a stem cell
  24. game — a kind of play

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