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. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  24. The moon will ________________ and wane.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — a thrill
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. chest — a box
  5. tear — to rip
  6. field — a subject
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. wax — for sculpting
  9. press — a publisher
  10. chest — of your body
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. press — to push
  13. chair — a leader
  14. field — for sport
  15. tear — from crying
  16. kick — in football
  17. press — newspapers
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. chair — a professorship
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. field — farmland
  22. tear — from crying
  23. chest — of your body
  24. wax — to grow

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