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 · game · temple · scale · roll · bowl · row · land

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  4. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. We're on a ________________ here.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. temple — side of the head
  4. row — a quarrel
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. row — to paddle
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. land — a country
  9. game — wild animals
  10. row — a line
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. roll — a cake
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. roll — on a roll
  15. land — to come down
  16. game — a match
  17. bowl — a dish
  18. scale — in music
  19. cold — not warm
  20. scale — size or range
  21. land — ground
  22. roll — a list
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. cold — an illness

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