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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. When was this ________________ built?
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  6. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  7. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  8. Have you settled on a ________________?
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  20. The ________________ took off on time.
  21. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. net — in sport
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. wound — an injury
  6. net — after costs
  7. chip — in a computer
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. branch — a division
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. chip — for betting
  13. date — the fruit
  14. net — for catching
  15. branch — of a bank
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. plane — a tool
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. straw — to clutch at straws
  20. plane — an aircraft
  21. temple — side of the head
  22. chip — to eat
  23. wound — an injury
  24. branch — of a tree

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