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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. cold — not warm
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. spell — a short time
  8. last — final
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. last — finally
  11. content — the amount
  12. cell — a phone
  13. bore — to drill
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. spell — letters
  16. last — to go on
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. cell — in biology
  19. content — happy
  20. spell — magic
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. bore — gave birth
  23. bore — to tire
  24. temple — a place of worship

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