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: stand · coach · race · land · perch · rest · chest · bat

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  9. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  22. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. land — ground
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. chest — a box
  5. perch — the fish
  6. stand — to bear
  7. rest — a break
  8. stand — on your feet
  9. race — a contest
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. chest — of your body
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. bat — the animal
  14. chest — of your body
  15. rest — what's left
  16. race — humankind
  17. land — a country
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. land — to come down
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. rest — what's left
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. race — the arms race

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