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: cap · present · shower · chest · calf · wave · saw · sharp

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. She's very handy with a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  20. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. shower — to wash
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. cap — of ice
  5. chest — of your body
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. saw — the tool
  9. wave — of the sea
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. chest — of your body
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. cap — a hat
  14. present — the time now
  15. saw — the tool
  16. shower — rain
  17. sharp — clever
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. present — a gift
  20. saw — past of 'see'
  21. present — there
  22. cap — a lid
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. chest — a box

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