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: bark · cold · chair · lean · bore · chest · game · suit

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  12. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. chest — of your body
  3. game — a match
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. suit — to fit
  6. chest — of your body
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bore — to tire
  9. cold — not warm
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. bore — to drill
  12. lean — to rest against
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. lean — thin
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. chest — a box
  17. game — wild animals
  18. lean — to bend
  19. cold — an illness
  20. suit — in cards
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. chair — a leader
  23. bark — to shout
  24. suit — clothes

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