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

  1. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. My mare is ________________ in color.

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

Answer key

  1. clip — for paper
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. mine — for digging
  7. last — finally
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. last — to go on
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. vault — an arched ceiling
  12. vault — a safe
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. last — final
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — to tease
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. clip — to cut
  21. clip — a video
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. bay — a horse colour

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