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. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  19. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  22. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  23. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. key — the most important part
  2. cold — not warm
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. game — a match
  5. last — final
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. key — in music
  8. game — wild animals
  9. chair — a leader
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. fall — the season
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. cold — an illness
  14. last — finally
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. fall — to drop
  18. game — a kind of play
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. last — to go on
  21. hide — animal skin
  22. key — for a lock
  23. fall — to drop
  24. calf — a young animal

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