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 · bowl · chest · calf · club · wave

  1. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  12. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — to roll
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. club — for golf
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. wave — of the sea
  8. chest — a box
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. wave — a sudden rise
  12. wave — with your hand
  13. chest — of your body
  14. cold — not warm
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for dancing
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. chest — of your body

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