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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. present — the time now
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. present — there
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. face — to confront
  9. bear — the animal
  10. face — to point toward
  11. wind — moving air
  12. face — part of the head
  13. wind — moving air
  14. prune — to trim
  15. content — the amount
  16. present — a gift
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. cold — an illness
  19. content — happy
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — the fruit
  22. bear — the animal
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. cold — the Cold War

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