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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. land — a country
  3. chest — a box
  4. court — of law
  5. tear — to rip
  6. tear — from crying
  7. chest — of your body
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. land — to come down
  10. court — for sport
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. degree — temperature
  13. pound — a weight
  14. chair — a leader
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. degree — an amount
  19. court — of a king
  20. tear — from crying
  21. stand — to bear
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. degree — from a university

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