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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. lie — to recline
  7. season — of the year
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. last — to go on
  11. cold — not warm
  12. vault — in gymnastics
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. cold — an illness
  15. vault — a safe
  16. club — a group
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. season — in sport
  19. last — final
  20. last — finally
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. lie — an untruth

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