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: rash · cell · object · roll · patient · cold · chest · coach

  1. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  2. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. Have you met the new head ________________?
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. patient — calm and waiting
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. chest — of your body
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. cell — in biology
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. object — a thing
  9. cold — not warm
  10. roll — a cake
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. cell — a phone
  14. object — an aim
  15. object — to protest
  16. cold — an illness
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. roll — a list
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. rash — hasty
  22. rash — a series
  23. chest — a box
  24. chest — of your body

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