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: temple · press · cold · game · cabinet · rash · ground · jam

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  3. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. When was this ________________ built?
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. That was a fun ________________.
  12. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  17. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. temple — a place of worship
  2. jam — to spread on bread
  3. cabinet — a cupboard
  4. press — a publisher
  5. rash — a series
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. ground — a position
  9. rash — hasty
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. game — a match
  12. ground — crushed
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. ground — the earth
  17. temple — side of the head
  18. game — wild animals
  19. cold — not warm
  20. press — to push
  21. press — newspapers
  22. cold — an illness
  23. jam — in traffic
  24. cold — the Cold War

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