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: pitcher · chest · hand · fall · straw · rest · track · hide

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. rest — a break
  3. hand — help
  4. fall — the season
  5. track — a song
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. track — a path
  8. rest — what's left
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. track — to keep track
  11. chest — of your body
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fall — to drop
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. hide — to keep secret
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. hand — in cards
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. fall — to drop
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. rest — what's left
  24. pitcher — a jug

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