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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. It's one o'clock ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. last — to go on
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. trunk — of an elephant
  6. last — final
  7. trunk — of a car
  8. capital — money
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. mark — a trace
  11. sharp — clever
  12. rock — music
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. last — finally
  17. rock — a stone
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. sharp — exactly
  20. capital — a city
  21. mark — a grade
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. trunk — of a tree

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