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: bat · branch · tear · calf · chest · degree · leaves · nail

  1. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  23. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  24. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. chest — of your body
  4. degree — temperature
  5. degree — an amount
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. branch — a division
  8. tear — to rip
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. chest — of your body
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. tear — from crying
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. bat — the animal
  19. tear — from crying
  20. chest — a box
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — to go away
  23. leaves — of a tree
  24. degree — from a university

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