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: chair · degree · lean · chest · firm · cell

  1. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. He was locked up in a ________________.
  17. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — to rest against
  2. cell — a phone
  3. firm — steady
  4. chair — a leader
  5. lean — thin
  6. cell — in biology
  7. degree — from a university
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. degree — temperature
  12. lean — to bend
  13. firm — a company
  14. chest — a box
  15. firm — decided
  16. cell — in a prison
  17. degree — an amount
  18. chair — to sit 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