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: temple · race · mate · file · field · arm · net · bat

  1. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  2. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  22. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — a part of something
  2. race — a contest
  3. mate — a friend
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. file — a tool
  8. field — for sport
  9. mate — to breed
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. net — in sport
  13. field — a subject
  14. race — the arms race
  15. field — farmland
  16. mate — a partner
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. race — humankind
  20. net — after costs
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. net — for catching
  23. file — a document
  24. file — a line of people

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