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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. That was a fun ________________.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. swing — to play on
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. chair — a leader
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. rest — what's left
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. swing — music
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. pitch — completely
  13. rest — what's left
  14. bat — the animal
  15. swing — in golf
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. rest — a break
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. file — a tool
  23. game — a match
  24. file — a document

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