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: chest · sharp · game · club · swing · last

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. swing — to play on
  3. chest — of your body
  4. last — to go on
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. sharp — clever
  7. last — final
  8. club — for dancing
  9. club — a group
  10. last — finally
  11. club — for golf
  12. chest — a box
  13. swing — in golf
  14. game — wild animals
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. game — a match
  17. swing — music
  18. game — a kind of play

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