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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  13. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  14. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. perch — the fish
  3. swing — music
  4. mine — for digging
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. root — the cause
  8. swing — to play on
  9. swing — in golf
  10. squash — to crush
  11. branch — a division
  12. root — of a plant
  13. branch — of a bank
  14. perch — for a bird
  15. squash — the sport
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. plane — a tool
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. root — of a word

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