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. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  10. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. last — final
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. last — finally
  7. last — to go on
  8. hand — help
  9. nail — on a finger
  10. board — to get on
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. spring — the season
  13. kid — child
  14. board — a committee
  15. spring — a coil
  16. spring — of water
  17. bass — low music
  18. hand — in cards
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. bass — the fish
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. calf — of the leg

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