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: chest · fork · clip · hide · field · race · racket · face

  1. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. field — for sport
  3. chest — of your body
  4. face — part of the head
  5. clip — for paper
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. face — to confront
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. field — farmland
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. clip — a video
  12. fork — in a road
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. clip — to cut
  16. race — a contest
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. race — humankind
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. field — a subject
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. race — the arms race
  24. face — to point toward

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