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 120 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: court · tube · present · cold · calf · bound · hide · row

  1. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  2. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  24. I'll be taking the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. row — a quarrel
  2. present — there
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. present — a gift
  5. present — the time now
  6. bound — certain
  7. row — a line
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. court — for sport
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. tube — a container
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. court — of a king
  14. hide — animal skin
  15. row — to paddle
  16. cold — an illness
  17. court — of law
  18. bound — obliged
  19. bound — tied together
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. cold — not warm
  23. calf — of the leg
  24. tube — the underground

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