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: bulb · fork · bat · cold · wind · chest · calf · branch

  1. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. The light ________________ burned out.
  9. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. fork — to eat with
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. fork — in a road
  4. calf — of the leg
  5. chest — of your body
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. bulb — for light
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. chest — a box
  11. cold — an illness
  12. chest — of your body
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. wind — moving air
  16. wind — to turn a key
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bat — the animal
  19. branch — a division
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. bulb — for light
  22. branch — of a tree
  23. cold — not warm
  24. fork — a garden tool

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