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 giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  17. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  18. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  19. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. roll — a cake
  3. land — ground
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. root — of a plant
  6. drill — a practice
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. cue — for pool
  10. root — of a word
  11. drill — the tool
  12. land — a country
  13. file — a tool
  14. cue — a hint
  15. file — a document
  16. calf — a young animal
  17. cue — a signal
  18. root — the cause
  19. roll — a list
  20. land — to come down
  21. spring — a coil
  22. drill — army training
  23. file — a line of people
  24. roll — on a roll

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