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: board · pound · sharp · rush · bat · content · cold · calf

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. pound — to hit hard
  4. bat — the animal
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. content — happy
  8. board — a flat piece
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. pound — a weight
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. board — to get on
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. board — a committee
  20. sharp — clever
  21. cold — an illness
  22. rush — hurry
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. content — the amount

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