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: chest · temple · root · hide · roll · bulb · cold · bore

  1. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  2. The light ________________ burned out.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  5. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. bulb — for light
  3. chest — of your body
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. root — of a word
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. cold — an illness
  8. roll — a cake
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. roll — a list
  12. cold — not warm
  13. bore — to drill
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. hide — animal skin
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. bore — to tire
  19. bulb — for light
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. root — of a plant
  23. root — the cause
  24. chest — a box

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