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: stem · calf · patient · mine · press · chest · fall · cold

  1. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  2. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. Did you ________________ the button?
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — a sick person
  2. stem — to come from
  3. chest — of your body
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. cold — an illness
  7. stem — a stem cell
  8. chest — a box
  9. cold — not warm
  10. chest — of your body
  11. fall — to drop
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. press — newspapers
  14. fall — to drop
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. stem — of a plant
  18. fall — the season
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. mine — for digging
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. press — a publisher
  23. press — to push
  24. cold — the Cold War

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