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. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. Have you found your soul ________________?
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  17. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  21. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. mate — to breed
  3. mine — for digging
  4. present — the time now
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. mate — a partner
  8. bark — to shout
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. bark — a dog's sound
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. mate — a friend
  13. sharp — clever
  14. present — there
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. patient — a sick person
  17. patient — calm and waiting
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. cold — an illness
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. calf — of the leg
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. present — a gift
  24. cold — not warm

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