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 116 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: bat · field · ruler · row · fall · chair · kick · rock

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  8. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. rock — music
  3. field — for sport
  4. row — a line
  5. chair — to sit on
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. field — a subject
  8. fall — to drop
  9. bat — the animal
  10. row — to paddle
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. field — farmland
  14. kick — in football
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. fall — the season
  17. fall — to drop
  18. ruler — for measuring
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. ruler — for measuring
  24. rock — a stone

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