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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cabinet · pound · tear · squash · chair · field

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  15. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. tear — from crying
  3. field — for sport
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. squash — the sport
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. tear — from crying
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. squash — to crush
  11. field — farmland
  12. field — a subject
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. chair — to sit on
  15. pound — to hit hard
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. pound — a weight
  18. tear — to rip

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