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. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. press — to push
  3. field — for sport
  4. rest — what's left
  5. season — in sport
  6. season — of the year
  7. race — humankind
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. race — a contest
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. field — farmland
  12. race — the arms race
  13. chest — a box
  14. field — a subject
  15. swing — to play on
  16. chest — of your body
  17. press — newspapers
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. swing — in golf
  21. press — a publisher
  22. rest — a break
  23. swing — music
  24. rest — what's left

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