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: bowl · wake · chest · cold · face · tube · rush · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. face — to confront
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. face — part of the head
  5. cold — an illness
  6. tube — a container
  7. chest — of your body
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. cold — not warm
  10. chair — a leader
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chest — a box
  14. wake — a trail
  15. tube — the underground
  16. face — to point toward
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. rush — hurry
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. chest — of your body
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. bowl — a dish

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