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: scale · vault · pop · bay · cold · date · tear · file

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  6. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. pop — music
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bay — a part of the sea
  6. bay — to keep at bay
  7. tear — from crying
  8. file — a line of people
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. file — a tool
  12. cold — an illness
  13. scale — size or range
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. pop — soda
  19. vault — a safe
  20. file — a document
  21. date — the fruit
  22. scale — in music
  23. pop — to visit
  24. date — on the calendar

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