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: leaves · court · perch · calf · pitch · cold · file · bat

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  12. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  13. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. file — a tool
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. cold — not warm
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. file — a line of people
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. file — a document
  11. calf — of the leg
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. leaves — lets stay
  14. bat — the animal
  15. perch — the fish
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. court — for sport
  18. cold — an illness
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. court — of law
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. pitch — completely
  24. court — of a king

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