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: trunk · fan · capital · chest · stick · chair · hide · fall

  1. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  2. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  3. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a professorship
  2. chair — to sit on
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. chest — of your body
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. capital — a city
  9. fall — the season
  10. chest — of your body
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. fall — to drop
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. capital — money
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. fall — to drop
  20. chest — a box
  21. chair — a leader
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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