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: tear · vault · last · branch · cold · lie · prune · rule

  1. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  2. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  11. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  12. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  13. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. rule — government
  2. lie — an untruth
  3. cold — not warm
  4. tear — from crying
  5. lie — an untruth
  6. prune — to trim
  7. tear — from crying
  8. branch — a division
  9. last — final
  10. vault — in gymnastics
  11. rule — to rule out
  12. prune — the fruit
  13. vault — a safe
  14. last — finally
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. prune — to trim
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. rule — a law
  21. cold — an illness
  22. last — to go on
  23. tear — to rip
  24. lie — to recline

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