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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. When was this ________________ built?
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. drill — a practice
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. bat — the animal
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. roll — a list
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. roll — a cake
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. cold — an illness
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. drill — army training
  20. cold — not warm
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. drill — the tool
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. perch — the fish

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