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 flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. rest — what's left
  4. clip — a video
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. clip — to cut
  9. degree — from a university
  10. land — ground
  11. rest — what's left
  12. clip — for paper
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. mine — for digging
  16. degree — an amount
  17. kick — in football
  18. spring — of water
  19. land — a country
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. land — to come down
  23. rest — a break
  24. degree — temperature

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