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 · rock · plane · pitch · sharp · stand · tear · bat

  1. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  16. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. pitch — a sales talk
  2. stand — to bear
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. chest — of your body
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bat — the animal
  8. pitch — completely
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. plane — a tool
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. chest — of your body
  16. pitch — a sports field
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. rock — music
  20. tear — from crying
  21. chest — a box
  22. tear — from crying
  23. rock — a stone
  24. tear — to rip

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