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: chest · patient · track · ball · wave · season · cell · pound

  1. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The King held a masked ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  22. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — a phone
  2. season — in sport
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. chest — of your body
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. pound — a weight
  9. track — to keep track
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. ball — a dance
  12. track — a song
  13. wave — a sudden rise
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. ball — a great time
  16. season — of the year
  17. chest — of your body
  18. cell — in biology
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. patient — calm and waiting
  22. patient — a sick person
  23. chest — a box
  24. track — a path

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