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: cell · scale · ball · kick · pass · cold · temple · capital

  1. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. When was this ________________ built?
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. The King held a masked ________________.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  24. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. ball — a great time
  4. cell — a phone
  5. capital — money
  6. kick — in football
  7. scale — size or range
  8. cell — in biology
  9. temple — a place of worship
  10. cold — an illness
  11. temple — a place of worship
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. scale — in music
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. capital — a city
  18. pass — a permit
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. ball — a dance
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. temple — side of the head
  24. kick — with a leg

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