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 120 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: foot · chair · spell · degree · prune · stick · coach · race

  1. Have you met the new head ________________?
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  14. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. coach — a trainer
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. race — a contest
  4. prune — to trim
  5. race — the arms race
  6. degree — an amount
  7. foot — a measure
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. prune — to trim
  11. spell — a short time
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. stick — to attach or keep to
  14. prune — the fruit
  15. degree — from a university
  16. chair — a leader
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. degree — temperature
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. race — humankind
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. spell — letters
  24. spell — magic

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