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 ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. My father caught me by the ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bat — the animal
  2. kick — in football
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. net — for catching
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. net — in sport
  7. mine — for digging
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. net — after costs
  10. game — wild animals
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. game — a match
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. cold — an illness
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. arm — part of the body
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. arm — part of the body
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. bat — in an idiom
  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