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: clip · kid · net · temple · cell · deal · pitch · date

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  21. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. When was this ________________ built?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. net — after costs
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. deal — to handle
  5. cell — in biology
  6. pitch — completely
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. clip — for paper
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. clip — to cut
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. kid — child
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. pitch — a sales talk
  16. net — for catching
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. date — the fruit
  19. clip — a video
  20. deal — a big deal
  21. cell — a phone
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. temple — a place of worship
  24. net — in sport

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