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 120 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 · cold · charge · swing · temple · court · last · sharp

  1. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  2. When was this ________________ built?
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. False peace will not ________________.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The tickets are free of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. court — of law
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. charge — electricity
  4. swing — to play on
  5. swing — music
  6. last — finally
  7. cold — an illness
  8. court — for sport
  9. charge — in control
  10. swing — in golf
  11. chest — a box
  12. last — final
  13. last — to go on
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. court — of a king
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. cold — not warm
  19. chest — of your body
  20. sharp — clever
  21. chest — of your body
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. charge — a price

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