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: shower · mug · roll · stem · file · temple · tear · wound

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. When was this ________________ built?
  19. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. roll — a list
  3. mug — a cup
  4. tear — to rip
  5. roll — a cake
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. file — a line of people
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. mug — a face
  12. tear — from crying
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. tear — from crying
  16. shower — to wash
  17. wound — an injury
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. stem — to come from
  20. shower — rain
  21. mug — to rob
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a tool
  24. wound — an injury

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