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 did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  13. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Have you met the new head ________________?
  21. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. degree — temperature
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. fall — the season
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. wax — to grow
  8. spring — the season
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. cell — in biology
  11. degree — from a university
  12. wax — in the ear
  13. wax — for sculpting
  14. fall — to drop
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. wound — an injury
  18. spring — of water
  19. wound — an injury
  20. coach — a trainer
  21. degree — an amount
  22. spring — a coil
  23. cell — a phone
  24. fall — to drop

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