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 · trunk · temple · kid · chest · field · lie · pitch

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  9. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  10. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. swing — music
  4. kid — to tease
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. field — farmland
  8. pitch — a sales talk
  9. field — a subject
  10. lie — to recline
  11. kid — child
  12. pitch — completely
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. swing — in golf
  16. chest — a box
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. field — for sport
  19. chest — of your body
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. swing — to play on
  22. chest — of your body
  23. lie — an untruth
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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