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

Word bank: cold · land · fine · bore · fan · vault · chest · cap

  1. When are we going to ________________?
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  5. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  15. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  16. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. land — to come down
  2. fine — all right
  3. cap — a lid
  4. bore — to drill
  5. fine — high quality
  6. cold — not warm
  7. chest — of your body
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. cold — an illness
  11. bore — to tire
  12. cap — of ice
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cap — a hat
  16. vault — a safe
  17. land — a country
  18. chest — of your body
  19. chest — a box
  20. land — ground
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. fine — a penalty

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