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. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  13. I've got to change the light ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The light ________________ burned out.
  18. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. firm — a company
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. march — the month
  7. march — the month
  8. file — a line of people
  9. file — a tool
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. rash — a series
  12. bulb — of a plant
  13. bulb — for light
  14. bat — the animal
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. file — a document
  17. bulb — for light
  18. firm — decided
  19. rash — hasty
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. firm — steady
  22. kick — in football
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. march — music

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