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: calf · file · field · staff · tube · cold · chair · spring

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. tube — the underground
  3. file — a document
  4. staff — a stick
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. field — for sport
  9. spring — the season
  10. file — a tool
  11. spring — of water
  12. field — a subject
  13. cold — an illness
  14. file — a line of people
  15. chair — a leader
  16. cold — not warm
  17. field — farmland
  18. spring — a coil
  19. tube — a container
  20. staff — employees
  21. staff — employees
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. chair — to sit on
  24. calf — a young animal

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