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 120 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. hand — help
  4. court — of a king
  5. ground — crushed
  6. saw — the tool
  7. saw — past of 'see'
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. court — for sport
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. wake — a trail
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. ground — a position
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. hand — in cards
  16. court — of law
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. ground — the earth
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. bulb — for light
  21. bulb — for light
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. saw — the tool

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