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 bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. jam — in traffic
  3. content — the amount
  4. patient — a sick person
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. march — the month
  8. kick — in football
  9. march — music
  10. chest — a box
  11. chest — of your body
  12. content — happy
  13. march — the month
  14. field — a subject
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. spell — magic
  17. spell — letters
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. field — for sport
  20. spell — a short time
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. field — farmland
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. kick — with a leg

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