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: game · chest · arm · last · march · bound · object · court

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. My father caught me by the ________________.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. object — to protest
  3. last — to go on
  4. march — music
  5. court — of law
  6. game — wild animals
  7. bound — tied together
  8. chest — of your body
  9. object — an aim
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. chest — a box
  13. object — a thing
  14. bound — obliged
  15. game — a match
  16. last — final
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. bound — certain
  19. court — of a king
  20. last — finally
  21. march — the month
  22. court — for sport
  23. march — the month
  24. game — a kind of play

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