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: content · net · kid · tear · field · lie · temple · racket

  1. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  2. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  6. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. When was this ________________ built?
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  19. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. field — farmland
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. net — in sport
  5. lie — to recline
  6. tear — from crying
  7. net — for catching
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. kid — to tease
  10. tear — from crying
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. temple — a place of worship
  13. field — a subject
  14. field — for sport
  15. content — happy
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. lie — an untruth
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. kid — child
  21. content — the amount
  22. net — after costs
  23. tear — to rip
  24. racket — a loud noise

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