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: lie · fan · vault · cold · face · tube · stem · roll

  1. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  2. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  3. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  4. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. I'll be taking the ________________.
  19. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. stem — to come from
  2. face — to confront
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. tube — a container
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. cold — an illness
  7. face — part of the head
  8. lie — to recline
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. lie — an untruth
  12. roll — a cake
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. tube — the underground
  19. stem — a stem cell
  20. vault — a safe
  21. roll — a list
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. face — to point toward
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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