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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. saw — the tool
  6. degree — an amount
  7. present — a gift
  8. present — the time now
  9. bat — the animal
  10. present — there
  11. cold — an illness
  12. degree — temperature
  13. file — a document
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. kid — child
  17. file — a line of people
  18. kid — to tease
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. saw — the tool
  21. degree — from a university
  22. file — a tool
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. cold — not warm

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