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: swing · cell · rest · chair · mark · rush · fall · capital

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  6. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  18. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. fall — the season
  5. mark — a grade
  6. fall — to drop
  7. swing — in golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. cell — a phone
  12. rest — what's left
  13. mark — a trace
  14. capital — money
  15. rest — a break
  16. cell — in biology
  17. chair — a leader
  18. rush — hurry
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. capital — a city
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. fall — to drop
  23. swing — music
  24. rest — what's left

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