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: cold · wound · temple · chest · date · leaves · rash · firm

  1. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. When was this ________________ built?
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — steady
  2. chest — of your body
  3. leaves — lets stay
  4. rash — hasty
  5. chest — a box
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. cold — an illness
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. firm — a company
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cold — not warm
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wound — an injury
  16. leaves — to go away
  17. firm — decided
  18. rash — a series
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. temple — a place of worship
  21. date — the fruit
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. wound — an injury

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