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: drill · lie · cold · ball · stem · file · current · bear

  1. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  23. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  24. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — a stem cell
  2. ball — a great time
  3. drill — army training
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. current — of water
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. cold — an illness
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. drill — the tool
  10. bear — the animal
  11. file — a line of people
  12. stem — of a plant
  13. drill — a practice
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stem — to come from
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. file — a tool
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. current — electric
  21. bear — the animal
  22. lie — to recline
  23. file — a document
  24. current — happening now

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