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: hide · fan · vault · file · cold · bowl · bulb · spell

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. vault — in gymnastics
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. spell — magic
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. spell — letters
  7. file — a tool
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. file — a document
  12. file — a line of people
  13. cold — not warm
  14. spell — a short time
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. hide — to keep secret
  17. vault — a safe
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. bulb — for light
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cold — an illness
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. fan — a supporter

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