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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  17. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  18. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. stock — a soup base
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. lie — to recline
  5. field — for sport
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. mate — a partner
  8. field — farmland
  9. mate — to breed
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. stock — goods
  12. field — a subject
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. cell — a phone
  15. mate — a friend
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. bark — of a tree
  18. bark — to shout
  19. spring — of water
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. spring — a coil
  22. cell — in biology
  23. stock — shares
  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