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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. spring — of water
  3. track — to keep track
  4. bear — the animal
  5. spring — a coil
  6. clip — for paper
  7. track — a path
  8. toast — a drink to someone
  9. last — to go on
  10. toast — bread
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. clip — a video
  13. toast — the most admired
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. bear — the animal
  17. trunk — of a car
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. clip — to cut
  20. spring — the season
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. last — finally
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. track — a song

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