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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  15. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. chest — of your body
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. pound — a weight
  6. shower — a meteor shower
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. pound — to hit hard
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — a box
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. shower — rain
  13. court — for sport
  14. temple — side of the head
  15. shower — to wash
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. court — of a king
  18. pound — for dogs

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