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: wake · chest · club · perch · field · key · pitcher · chair

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  20. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. perch — the fish
  3. chest — of your body
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. key — in music
  7. club — for dancing
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. club — for golf
  13. club — a group
  14. wake — a trail
  15. chest — of your body
  16. field — a subject
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. chest — a box
  19. field — for sport
  20. chair — a professorship
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. key — the most important part
  23. key — for a lock
  24. field — farmland

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