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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Have you found your soul ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. swing — in golf
  3. mate — a friend
  4. cell — a phone
  5. content — the amount
  6. chest — of your body
  7. net — for catching
  8. content — happy
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. net — after costs
  11. net — in sport
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. mate — a partner
  14. land — a country
  15. land — to come down
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. land — ground
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. mate — to breed
  20. swing — music
  21. chest — a box
  22. cell — in biology
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. swing — to play on

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