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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  23. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. drill — the tool
  4. ground — a position
  5. fork — in a road
  6. wound — an injury
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cap — a lid
  9. bat — the animal
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. temple — side of the head
  12. ground — the earth
  13. kid — child
  14. drill — a practice
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. kid — to tease
  18. ground — crushed
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. drill — army training
  21. cap — a hat
  22. bat — in an idiom
  23. fork — to eat with
  24. cap — of ice

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