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. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  2. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a great time
  2. ball — a dance
  3. clip — to cut
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. safe — out of danger
  7. degree — temperature
  8. fall — to drop
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. wind — moving air
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. bat — the animal
  13. fall — to drop
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. clip — a video
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. wind — moving air
  20. clip — for paper
  21. degree — from a university
  22. fall — the season
  23. degree — an amount
  24. bat — for baseball

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