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 120 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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. spring — a coil
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. cold — an illness
  6. mouse — for a computer
  7. wound — an injury
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. foot — the bottom
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. spring — the season
  13. cold — not warm
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. spring — of water
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. foot — a measure
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. wound — an injury
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. fan — to cool the air

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