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 · field · face · clip · hand · stick · coach · rush

  1. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. face — part of the head
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. hand — in cards
  6. field — a subject
  7. face — to confront
  8. clip — a video
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. chair — a professorship
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. chair — a leader
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. field — farmland
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. hand — help
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — for paper
  22. face — to point toward
  23. field — for sport
  24. coach — pulled by horses

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