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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. kid — to tease
  4. kid — child
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. land — a country
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. perch — the fish
  12. nail — on a finger
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. land — ground
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. capital — a city
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. land — to come down
  22. capital — money
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. nail — for a hammer

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