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: tear · chest · calf · bowl · rush · clip · fan · file

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. You shouldn't ________________ things.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. file — a tool
  3. tear — to rip
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. file — a line of people
  6. clip — for paper
  7. file — a document
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. tear — from crying
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. chest — of your body
  12. clip — a video
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. tear — from crying
  15. clip — to cut
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. chest — of your body
  18. bowl — to roll
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. calf — of the leg
  21. chest — a box
  22. rush — hurry
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. rush — to hurry

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