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 120 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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  7. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. vault — a safe
  2. saw — the tool
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. ball — a great time
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. stick — to attach or keep to
  7. ball — a round shape
  8. tear — to rip
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. tear — from crying
  12. saw — the tool
  13. pitcher — a jug
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. row — a line
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. ball — a dance
  21. row — to paddle
  22. tear — from crying
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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