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: ball · calf · fork · plane · swing · spell · last · degree

  1. David sat on the ________________.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. The ________________ took off on time.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  17. The King held a masked ________________.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  19. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. spell — letters
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. spell — a short time
  6. degree — from a university
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. plane — an aircraft
  9. last — to go on
  10. degree — an amount
  11. last — finally
  12. degree — temperature
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. swing — in golf
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. calf — of the leg
  17. ball — a dance
  18. fork — in a road
  19. plane — a tool
  20. ball — a great time
  21. last — final
  22. swing — music
  23. spell — magic
  24. fork — to eat with

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