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 116 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  23. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. vault — a safe
  3. file — a line of people
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. dip — a sauce
  6. stem — to come from
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. file — a tool
  9. last — to go on
  10. bear — the animal
  11. scale — size or range
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. scale — in music
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. stem — a stem cell
  16. cold — an illness
  17. file — a document
  18. stem — of a plant
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. cold — not warm
  21. dip — to sink
  22. bear — the animal
  23. dip — to dunk
  24. last — finally

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