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 116 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 ________________ with my boss today.
  2. The ball is in your ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  8. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. court — for sport
  3. row — a line
  4. leaves — lets stay
  5. current — electric
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. clip — to cut
  8. leaves — to go away
  9. land — ground
  10. court — of law
  11. stem — a stem cell
  12. land — to come down
  13. clip — for paper
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. leaves — of a tree
  16. land — a country
  17. court — of a king
  18. stem — to come from
  19. current — of water
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. current — happening now
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. clip — a video
  24. row — to paddle

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