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: rush · suit · vault · file · ground · patient · cold · bat

  1. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. There's no middle ________________.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. That must've been a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. When will it ________________ you to start?
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  24. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. ground — a position
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. suit — clothes
  7. rush — hurry
  8. rush — to hurry
  9. file — a tool
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ground — crushed
  12. cold — not warm
  13. rush — a thrill
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. file — a document
  17. vault — a safe
  18. bat — the animal
  19. ground — the earth
  20. suit — to fit
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. file — a line of people
  23. patient — calm and waiting
  24. vault — an arched ceiling

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