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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  22. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  23. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. bat — the animal
  3. pit — in a race
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. ruler — for measuring
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. ruler — for measuring
  9. tear — from crying
  10. cold — not warm
  11. last — finally
  12. cold — an illness
  13. pit — a fruit stone
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. last — to go on
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tear — to rip
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. pit — a hole
  22. ruler — a monarch
  23. wave — of the sea
  24. cold — the Cold War

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