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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: drill · race · cold · temple · squash · content · lean · ground

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  10. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. race — a contest
  5. squash — to crush
  6. lean — to bend
  7. race — the arms race
  8. cold — not warm
  9. temple — side of the head
  10. lean — to rest against
  11. ground — the earth
  12. drill — army training
  13. content — happy
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. lean — thin
  16. ground — a position
  17. race — humankind
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. ground — crushed
  20. drill — a practice
  21. squash — the sport
  22. cold — an illness
  23. drill — the tool
  24. content — videos and posts

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