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 · pitch · plane · track · mine · temple · shower · chest

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. content — happy
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. pitch — completely
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. content — the amount
  9. pitch — a sports field
  10. track — a path
  11. plane — a tool
  12. track — to keep track
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. shower — to wash
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. track — a song
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. chest — of your body
  20. shower — rain
  21. chest — a box
  22. chest — of your body
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. mine — belonging to me

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