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: rest · stock · bat · court · leaves · vault · cold · cap

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  5. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. The ball is in your ________________.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. cold — not warm
  3. cap — of ice
  4. stock — a soup base
  5. court — of a king
  6. cap — a hat
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. stock — shares
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. stock — goods
  13. court — of law
  14. vault — in gymnastics
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. bat — the animal
  17. cap — a lid
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. vault — a safe
  21. leaves — of a tree
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. court — for sport
  24. rest — what's left

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