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. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wound — an injury
  5. capital — money
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. capital — a city
  10. wound — an injury
  11. vault — a safe
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. file — a line of people
  15. file — a tool
  16. bat — the animal
  17. mine — for digging
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. capital — a big letter
  20. file — a document
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. vault — an arched ceiling
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. chest — of your body

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