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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. False peace will not ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. swing — music
  3. fine — high quality
  4. degree — from a university
  5. chair — a leader
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. perch — the fish
  8. last — final
  9. fine — all right
  10. club — for dancing
  11. last — to go on
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. swing — in golf
  15. chest — of your body
  16. last — finally
  17. degree — an amount
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. degree — temperature
  20. club — a group
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. club — for golf
  24. perch — for a bird

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