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: game · plane · calf · safe · clip · capital · bark · shower

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  7. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  18. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  23. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. game — wild animals
  3. shower — to wash
  4. capital — a city
  5. capital — money
  6. bark — of a tree
  7. safe — out of danger
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. calf — of the leg
  10. clip — to cut
  11. capital — a big letter
  12. plane — a tool
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. bark — to shout
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. shower — rain
  17. bark — a dog's sound
  18. clip — a video
  19. game — a match
  20. safe — a strongbox
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. clip — for paper
  23. shower — a meteor shower
  24. plane — an aircraft

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