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. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Where did you ________________ them?
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. patient — a sick person
  3. last — final
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mug — a cup
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. last — to go on
  13. mug — to rob
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. chair — a leader
  19. mug — a face
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — happy
  22. last — finally
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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