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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. chest — of your body
  5. game — a match
  6. chest — a box
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bank — for money
  9. game — wild animals
  10. bank — of a river
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. chip — for betting
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. capital — money
  16. clip — a video
  17. chest — of your body
  18. chip — to eat
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. bank — for money
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. clip — to cut
  24. capital — a city

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