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: degree · calf · clip · land · can · club · shower · saw

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. When are we going to ________________?
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  20. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. saw — the tool
  3. land — a country
  4. shower — a meteor shower
  5. clip — to cut
  6. degree — from a university
  7. can — to be able to
  8. land — ground
  9. club — for golf
  10. can — a tin
  11. club — for dancing
  12. land — to come down
  13. degree — an amount
  14. shower — rain
  15. can — a tin
  16. degree — temperature
  17. club — a group
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. shower — to wash
  20. clip — for paper
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. saw — past of 'see'
  23. clip — a video
  24. saw — the 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