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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. I'll be taking the ________________.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. face — to point toward
  4. wake — a trail
  5. court — of a king
  6. court — for sport
  7. face — to confront
  8. last — final
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. clip — a video
  11. clip — for paper
  12. content — the amount
  13. last — finally
  14. tube — a container
  15. tube — the underground
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. face — part of the head
  19. content — happy
  20. court — of law
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. last — to go on
  23. clip — to cut
  24. tube — in a tire

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