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 · march · last · drill · club · wind · degree · spring

  1. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. calf — a young animal
  2. wind — moving air
  3. spring — of water
  4. march — the month
  5. last — to go on
  6. drill — the tool
  7. degree — from a university
  8. drill — army training
  9. wind — to turn a key
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. last — final
  12. march — music
  13. wind — moving air
  14. club — a group
  15. club — for dancing
  16. club — for golf
  17. spring — a coil
  18. calf — of the leg
  19. degree — an amount
  20. march — the month
  21. drill — a practice
  22. degree — temperature
  23. last — finally
  24. spring — the season

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