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. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. object — to protest
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. swing — to play on
  4. cold — not warm
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. last — to go on
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. cold — an illness
  9. leaves — to go away
  10. fall — to drop
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. last — final
  13. last — finally
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. object — an aim
  16. swing — in golf
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. object — a thing
  21. fall — to drop
  22. trunk — of a tree
  23. swing — music
  24. fall — 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