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 · chest · field · date · bat · spell · charge · temple

  1. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. The tickets are free of ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. spell — magic
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. chest — of your body
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. field — farmland
  8. charge — in control
  9. chair — a leader
  10. bat — the animal
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. temple — side of the head
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. field — a subject
  17. chest — a box
  18. charge — electricity
  19. charge — a price
  20. field — for sport
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. spell — letters
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. chest — of your body

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