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. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  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. court — of law
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. face — to point toward
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. kid — child
  12. face — part of the head
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. court — of a king
  15. cold — an illness
  16. court — for sport
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. kid — to tease
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. face — to confront
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. straw — a straw man
  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