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: prune · court · chair · rest · chest · race · dip · mark

  1. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. court — for sport
  3. chair — a leader
  4. rest — what's left
  5. court — of law
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. mark — a trace
  9. chest — of your body
  10. race — humankind
  11. dip — to sink
  12. mark — a grade
  13. race — the arms race
  14. chest — of your body
  15. prune — to trim
  16. court — of a king
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. rest — a break
  20. prune — to trim
  21. chest — a box
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. race — a contest

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