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 120 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: ball · wound · chest · kick · coach · ruler · board · cold

  1. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  2. Have you met the new head ________________?
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. board — a flat piece
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. chest — of your body
  4. board — a committee
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. wound — an injury
  9. chest — a box
  10. cold — an illness
  11. board — to get on
  12. cold — not warm
  13. ball — a great time
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. chest — of your body
  22. kick — in football
  23. wound — an injury
  24. cold — the Cold War

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