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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. The light ________________ burned out.
  12. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  13. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  14. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  15. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. degree — an amount
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. bulb — for light
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. tear — from crying
  11. bulb — for light
  12. tear — from crying
  13. degree — from a university
  14. tear — to rip
  15. degree — temperature
  16. chest — a box
  17. capital — money
  18. capital — a city

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