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

Word bank: bowl · vault · kid · prune · file · staff · cold · season

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the meat?
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  14. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  24. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. vault — a safe
  3. staff — a stick
  4. staff — employees
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — not warm
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. prune — to trim
  10. season — in sport
  11. season — to add flavour
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. bowl — to roll
  14. vault — an arched ceiling
  15. season — of the year
  16. kid — child
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. file — a line of people
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. kid — to tease
  21. file — a document
  22. staff — employees
  23. bowl — a football final
  24. prune — to trim

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