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: spell · chest · vault · rock · shower · saw · clip · stock

  1. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. He works in a ________________ mill.
  16. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. She's very handy with a ________________.
  19. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — of your body
  2. shower — to wash
  3. clip — a video
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. clip — for paper
  6. clip — to cut
  7. stock — shares
  8. chest — of your body
  9. vault — a safe
  10. chest — a box
  11. rock — a stone
  12. stock — goods
  13. shower — rain
  14. spell — a short time
  15. saw — the tool
  16. vault — an arched ceiling
  17. spell — magic
  18. saw — the tool
  19. rock — music
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. spell — letters

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