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 · cell · shower · band · patient · fan · temple · last

  1. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — side of the head
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. cell — in biology
  4. band — a ring
  5. band — a music group
  6. last — finally
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. last — final
  13. cell — a phone
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. shower — rain
  17. patient — a sick person
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. cold — not warm
  20. shower — to wash
  21. cold — an illness
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. last — to go on
  24. patient — calm and waiting

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