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

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. capital — money
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. chest — of your body
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. rule — a law
  8. capital — a city
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. chest — a box
  11. board — a committee
  12. cold — not warm
  13. march — the month
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rule — government
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. board — a flat piece
  20. march — the month
  21. chest — of your body
  22. march — music
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. board — to get on

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