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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. How do you ________________ your surname?
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. net — after costs
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. spring — the season
  5. cold — not warm
  6. vault — a safe
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. net — for catching
  9. spell — a short time
  10. date — the fruit
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. net — in sport
  14. spell — magic
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. cold — an illness
  17. branch — a division
  18. spell — letters
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. spring — of water
  24. date — on the calendar

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