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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. pop — to visit
  5. pop — soda
  6. rest — what's left
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. fine — all right
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. bark — of a tree
  11. chest — of your body
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. fine — high quality
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. row — a line
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. row — to paddle
  18. chest — a box
  19. rest — a break
  20. rest — what's left
  21. row — a quarrel
  22. bark — to shout
  23. pop — music
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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