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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  7. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  22. The ________________ market has crashed.
  23. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. chest — a box
  6. stock — goods
  7. pit — a hole
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. chest — of your body
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. spell — magic
  13. bat — the animal
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. spell — letters
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. roll — a list
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. chest — of your body
  21. pit — in a race
  22. stock — shares
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. spell — a short time

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