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. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. When was this ________________ built?
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. current — happening now
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. cold — not warm
  4. land — ground
  5. cold — an illness
  6. land — a country
  7. branch — of a bank
  8. current — electric
  9. hand — help
  10. hide — to keep secret
  11. hand — in cards
  12. hide — animal skin
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. hide — to keep secret
  15. branch — a division
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. current — of water
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. temple — a place of worship
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. land — to come down
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. branch — of a tree

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