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: date · bore · chest · field · chair · ground · leaves · track

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  19. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. ground — crushed
  3. track — a path
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bore — to drill
  6. ground — a position
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. field — a subject
  9. field — farmland
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. ground — the earth
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. track — a song
  15. chest — a box
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. chest — of your body
  18. leaves — to go away
  19. bore — to tire
  20. date — the fruit
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. field — for sport
  23. track — to keep track
  24. chair — a leader

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