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: scale · roll · land · face · calf · spring · swing · present

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. When are we going to ________________?
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. face — to point toward
  3. spring — a coil
  4. spring — the season
  5. face — to confront
  6. present — the time now
  7. swing — music
  8. present — there
  9. roll — a list
  10. face — part of the head
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. roll — a cake
  13. swing — in golf
  14. present — a gift
  15. scale — in music
  16. land — ground
  17. scale — size or range
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. spring — of water
  22. land — to come down
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. land — a country

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