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: snap · court · stand · kid · chest · race · fall · field

  1. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The ball is in your ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to click
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. court — of a king
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. field — for sport
  6. stand — to bear
  7. fall — to drop
  8. fall — the season
  9. fall — to drop
  10. race — humankind
  11. chest — of your body
  12. race — the arms race
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. court — of law
  15. kid — child
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. chest — of your body
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. chest — a box
  21. kid — to tease
  22. race — a contest
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. court — for sport

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