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: vault · shower · bat · tear · wound · race · racket · saw

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. tear — from crying
  6. bat — the animal
  7. racket — a loud noise
  8. tear — to rip
  9. tear — from crying
  10. wound — an injury
  11. race — the arms race
  12. vault — an arched ceiling
  13. vault — a safe
  14. bat — in an idiom
  15. shower — rain
  16. saw — the tool
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. vault — in gymnastics
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. race — humankind
  22. wound — an injury
  23. shower — to wash
  24. saw — the tool

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