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. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — to wash
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. wake — a trail
  5. bat — the animal
  6. band — a music group
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. band — a ring
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. shower — rain
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. stick — to attach or keep to
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. march — music
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. march — the month
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. march — the month
  23. wound — an injury
  24. wound — an injury

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