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. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. This piece is in a major ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. scale — in music
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. key — the most important part
  5. cold — not warm
  6. swing — to play on
  7. key — in music
  8. ground — crushed
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. ground — a position
  16. cold — an illness
  17. scale — size or range
  18. pass — a permit
  19. key — for a lock
  20. ground — the earth
  21. swing — music
  22. date — the fruit
  23. pass — to spend time
  24. swing — in golf

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