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: last · stem · leaves · track · row · clip · club · calf

  1. False peace will not ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  17. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Many English words ________________ from Latin.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. track — to keep track
  3. last — finally
  4. row — to paddle
  5. track — a song
  6. club — for golf
  7. clip — a video
  8. track — a path
  9. club — a group
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. clip — for paper
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. club — for dancing
  16. stem — of a plant
  17. stem — a stem cell
  18. row — a line
  19. clip — to cut
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. last — final
  24. stem — to come from

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