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. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. It's one o'clock ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We're almost out of ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. march — the month
  4. rash — hasty
  5. pop — music
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. pop — to visit
  9. rash — a series
  10. sharp — exactly
  11. field — for sport
  12. tear — to rip
  13. tear — from crying
  14. pop — soda
  15. march — the month
  16. clip — for paper
  17. march — music
  18. clip — a video
  19. sharp — clever
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. field — farmland
  22. field — a subject
  23. tear — from crying
  24. clip — to cut

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