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 · degree · hand · pass · jam · bore · cold · pitch

  1. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  2. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  3. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  15. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  16. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  24. Would you like some apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. pitch — a sales talk
  3. pass — to succeed
  4. bore — to tire
  5. cold — an illness
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. pitch — completely
  8. degree — an amount
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. hand — in cards
  12. degree — temperature
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. calf — of the leg
  15. bore — to drill
  16. jam — a tight spot
  17. hand — help
  18. degree — from a university
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. jam — in traffic
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. pass — a permit
  24. jam — to spread on bread

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