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 · clip · wind · stem · chest · lean · club · face

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  6. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. When was this ________________ built?
  23. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. temple — side of the head
  3. chest — of your body
  4. clip — a video
  5. chest — a box
  6. face — to point toward
  7. club — for golf
  8. clip — to cut
  9. lean — thin
  10. club — for dancing
  11. clip — for paper
  12. wind — moving air
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. club — a group
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. lean — to bend
  18. wind — moving air
  19. face — to confront
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. temple — a place of worship
  23. chest — of your body
  24. stem — a stem cell

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