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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · calf · staff · bay · cell · degree

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  16. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. staff — employees
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cell — a phone
  5. cold — an illness
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. calf — of the leg
  9. staff — employees
  10. cold — not warm
  11. bay — to keep at bay
  12. cell — in biology
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. staff — a stick
  16. degree — an amount
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. degree — from a university

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