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: chair · saw · patient · spring · pound · kid · calf · shower

  1. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  8. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. He works in a ________________ mill.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  21. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He's taking a ________________ right now.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. chair — a leader
  3. shower — rain
  4. kid — to tease
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. saw — the tool
  7. patient — a sick person
  8. calf — a young animal
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. spring — of water
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. spring — a coil
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. saw — the tool
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. pound — to hit hard
  21. pound — a weight
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. spring — the season
  24. shower — to wash

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