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. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  4. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. It's one o'clock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — with an edge
  2. tube — a container
  3. prune — to trim
  4. bank — for money
  5. prune — to trim
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. sharp — clever
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. bank — of a river
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. court — of law
  13. row — a line
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. court — of a king
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. tube — the underground
  20. bank — for money
  21. row — to paddle
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. court — for sport
  24. sharp — exactly

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