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 protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. You don't need to ________________ round.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. This piece is in a major ________________.
  10. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. pop — to visit
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. last — finally
  7. deal — an agreement
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. key — in music
  10. last — final
  11. capital — a city
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. capital — money
  14. key — the most important part
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pitch — completely
  17. key — for a lock
  18. last — to go on
  19. pop — music
  20. deal — to handle
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. wind — moving air
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. pop — soda

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