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. I've got to change the light ________________.
  2. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. calf — of the leg
  3. rush — hurry
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. lean — to bend
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. cold — an illness
  8. net — for catching
  9. bulb — for light
  10. bulb — of a plant
  11. row — to paddle
  12. game — wild animals
  13. row — a line
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. game — a match
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. net — in sport
  20. cold — not warm
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. net — after costs
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. lean — thin

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