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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  2. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  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. bat — the animal
  2. squash — to crush
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. deal — to handle
  5. spring — the season
  6. dip — to sink
  7. cold — an illness
  8. squash — the sport
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — not warm
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. press — newspapers
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. press — to push
  17. spring — of water
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. spring — a coil
  22. press — a publisher
  23. dip — to dunk
  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