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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. cap — a lid
  4. present — a gift
  5. capital — a city
  6. present — the time now
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. cold — an illness
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. present — there
  13. cold — not warm
  14. dip — to sink
  15. shower — rain
  16. cap — a hat
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. track — a song
  20. capital — money
  21. shower — to wash
  22. track — to keep track
  23. cap — of ice
  24. temple — a place of worship

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