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. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. This piece is in a major ________________.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. spring — of water
  3. foot — part of the body
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. key — in music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chest — of your body
  8. cell — in biology
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. club — for golf
  11. spring — a coil
  12. foot — a measure
  13. chest — a box
  14. key — for a lock
  15. bat — the animal
  16. club — a group
  17. key — the most important part
  18. spring — the season
  19. cell — a phone
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. club — for dancing
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. bat — in an idiom

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