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 felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. That was ________________ to happen.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  20. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. root — the cause
  4. bound — certain
  5. chest — of your body
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bound — tied together
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. game — a match
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. root — of a plant
  12. root — of a word
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. mine — an explosive
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. chest — a box
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. bound — obliged
  22. mine — for digging
  23. bat — the animal
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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