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. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  2. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. That was a fun ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a line
  2. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. game — wild animals
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. kick — a thrill
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. row — to paddle
  8. kid — child
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. clip — a video
  11. kid — to tease
  12. hand — in cards
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. game — a match
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. hand — help
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. clip — to cut
  21. foot — a measure
  22. clip — for paper
  23. kick — in football
  24. hand — part of the body

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