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. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  2. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — to breed
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. mate — a friend
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mate — a partner
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. spring — of water
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. snap — to click
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. spring — a coil
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. plane — a tool
  20. row — a line
  21. row — to paddle
  22. cold — an illness
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. spring — the season

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