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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The ball is in your ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. branch — a division
  5. kid — child
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. kid — to tease
  8. court — of a king
  9. chest — a box
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. court — for sport
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — for sport
  18. field — farmland
  19. court — of law
  20. wake — a trail
  21. pound — a weight
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. kick — a thrill
  24. kick — in football

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