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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. plane — a tool
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. cold — not warm
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. wind — moving air
  8. prune — to trim
  9. spring — a coil
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. row — a line
  12. spring — of water
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — an illness
  17. row — to paddle
  18. board — a flat piece
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. prune — to trim
  21. wind — moving air
  22. board — to get on
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. board — a committee

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