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: chest · game · hand · stick · foot · rush · last · tear

  1. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a kind of play
  2. last — final
  3. rush — hurry
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. last — finally
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. rush — to hurry
  8. chest — a box
  9. tear — from crying
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. foot — a measure
  13. chest — of your body
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. tear — to rip
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. last — to go on
  18. game — a match
  19. game — wild animals
  20. chest — of your body
  21. hand — in cards
  22. tear — from crying
  23. foot — the bottom
  24. hand — help

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