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

Word bank: net · temple · bulb · cold · land · rush · chair · stick

  1. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. That must've been a ________________.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  15. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  16. The light ________________ burned out.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — a leader
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. net — after costs
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. bulb — for light
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. rush — a thrill
  10. rush — hurry
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. cold — an illness
  14. bulb — of a plant
  15. temple — side of the head
  16. bulb — for light
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. net — in sport
  19. net — for catching
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. land — to come down
  22. land — ground
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. land — a country

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