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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  20. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  21. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  24. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. wax — to grow
  5. content — happy
  6. degree — from a university
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. degree — an amount
  9. degree — temperature
  10. content — the amount
  11. last — final
  12. last — finally
  13. stock — shares
  14. last — to go on
  15. race — humankind
  16. scale — size or range
  17. race — the arms race
  18. scale — in music
  19. race — a contest
  20. stock — a soup base
  21. stock — goods
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. wax — for sculpting
  24. wax — in the ear

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