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 giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  3. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. rest — what's left
  3. season — in sport
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. season — of the year
  6. rest — what's left
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. race — the arms race
  11. rest — a break
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. race — a contest
  14. stem — to come from
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. mine — belonging to me
  17. saw — the tool
  18. cold — not warm
  19. cold — an illness
  20. race — humankind
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. mine — for digging
  24. saw — the 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