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. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. That must've been a ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  8. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. rush — a thrill
  3. face — to confront
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. cell — a phone
  6. field — farmland
  7. staff — a stick
  8. foot — the bottom
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. face — to point toward
  11. field — for sport
  12. board — to get on
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. staff — employees
  16. staff — employees
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. field — a subject
  20. board — a committee
  21. face — part of the head
  22. cell — in biology
  23. foot — a measure
  24. rush — hurry

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