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: bowl · pit · temple · season · wax · bore · pop · cold

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. You don't need to ________________ round.
  4. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  9. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  24. Did you ________________ the meat?

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. pop — to visit
  4. bore — gave birth
  5. bore — to drill
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. bore — to tire
  9. wax — for sculpting
  10. season — of the year
  11. wax — in the ear
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. pop — soda
  14. wax — to grow
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. cold — not warm
  17. pit — in a race
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. cold — an illness
  20. pop — music
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. season — in sport
  23. pit — a hole
  24. season — to add flavour

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