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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. fork — in a road
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. clip — a video
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. clip — for paper
  16. wake — to stop sleeping
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. clip — to cut
  20. cold — not warm
  21. wake — a trail
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. snap — to click
  24. fork — a garden tool

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