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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  20. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. track — to keep track
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. track — a song
  6. tube — the underground
  7. court — for sport
  8. chest — a box
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. court — of law
  13. cold — not warm
  14. tube — a container
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — a gift
  17. chest — of your body
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. tube — in a tire
  20. court — of a king
  21. present — there
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. track — a path

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