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: straw · bat · drill · vault · race · rock · clip · fine

  1. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. race — the arms race
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. clip — for paper
  8. bat — the animal
  9. fine — all right
  10. rock — music
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. drill — a practice
  13. race — a contest
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. race — humankind
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. vault — a safe
  19. bat — in an idiom
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. rock — a stone
  22. clip — a video
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. clip — to cut

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