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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Did you ________________ the button?
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. mine — for digging
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. shower — rain
  5. cap — a lid
  6. rest — a break
  7. rest — what's left
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. press — a publisher
  10. press — newspapers
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. shower — a meteor shower
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. shower — to wash
  15. rest — what's left
  16. chest — of your body
  17. press — to push
  18. chest — a box
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. chest — of your body
  21. last — to go on
  22. cap — a hat
  23. cap — of ice
  24. last — finally

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