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. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — of the leg
  2. cold — an illness
  3. cold — not warm
  4. last — finally
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. ball — a dance
  10. mine — for digging
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. rash — hasty
  15. wax — to grow
  16. last — to go on
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. rash — a series
  19. ball — a great time
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. last — final
  23. bark — to shout
  24. rash — on the skin

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