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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  6. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. spring — of water
  3. file — a line of people
  4. lie — to recline
  5. vault — in gymnastics
  6. vault — a safe
  7. spring — the season
  8. bank — for money
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. wake — a trail
  11. spring — a coil
  12. game — a match
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. game — wild animals
  15. file — a document
  16. lie — an untruth
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. bank — of a river
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. bank — for money
  23. file — a tool
  24. mine — an explosive

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