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. When was this ________________ built?
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  21. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. The ________________ market has crashed.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. chest — of your body
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. degree — an amount
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stock — goods
  7. cue — for pool
  8. fine — all right
  9. cue — a signal
  10. chest — a box
  11. trunk — of a tree
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. file — a line of people
  14. cue — a hint
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. degree — temperature
  17. degree — from a university
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. file — a document
  20. fine — high quality
  21. stock — a soup base
  22. file — a tool
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. stock — shares

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