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: vault · calf · cell · cap · file · bark · cold · sharp

  1. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. cap — a lid
  2. bark — to shout
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. vault — a safe
  6. calf — a young animal
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. cell — in biology
  9. file — a document
  10. vault — an arched ceiling
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cell — a phone
  16. cold — an illness
  17. file — a line of people
  18. cold — not warm
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. cap — of ice
  22. file — a tool
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. sharp — clever

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