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: patient · chest · court · stem · spring · row · coach · roll

  1. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. chest — a box
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. row — a line
  9. court — for sport
  10. roll — a list
  11. chest — of your body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. coach — pulled by horses
  15. row — to paddle
  16. court — of law
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. stem — to come from
  19. roll — a cake
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. court — of a king
  24. stem — a stem cell

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