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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. drill — the tool
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. club — for golf
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. content — happy
  8. club — for dancing
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a tree
  13. kid — to tease
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. spring — the season
  16. drill — a practice
  17. kid — child
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. spring — of water
  22. drill — army training
  23. spring — a coil
  24. club — a group

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