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: face · field · patient · date · rash · bulb · chest · kid

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Have you settled on a ________________?
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  23. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. field — for sport
  3. rash — hasty
  4. face — to confront
  5. bulb — of a plant
  6. bulb — for light
  7. kid — child
  8. chest — of your body
  9. bulb — for light
  10. face — to point toward
  11. field — farmland
  12. kid — to tease
  13. date — the fruit
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. rash — a series
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. face — part of the head
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. field — a subject
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. chest — a box

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