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: bat · temple · cell · roll · board · wake · bowl · clip

  1. When was this ________________ built?
  2. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. temple — a place of worship
  3. board — a committee
  4. board — a flat piece
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. cell — a phone
  7. clip — for paper
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. clip — a video
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. board — to get on
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. roll — a cake
  18. roll — a list
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. cell — in biology
  23. bat — the animal
  24. wake — a trail

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