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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  3. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. David sat on the ________________.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. calf — of the leg
  4. rash — a series
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. spring — of water
  8. kid — to tease
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. kid — child
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. wind — moving air
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. spring — the season
  16. swing — music
  17. swing — to play on
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. wind — moving air
  20. swing — in golf
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bat — the animal
  23. pitch — completely
  24. wind — to turn a key

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