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: vault · tube · wake · race · cold · cap · drill · rest

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  22. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  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. wake — before a funeral
  2. drill — army training
  3. cold — not warm
  4. drill — the tool
  5. wake — a trail
  6. race — a contest
  7. rest — what's left
  8. vault — a safe
  9. cap — a lid
  10. drill — a practice
  11. tube — in a tire
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. cap — of ice
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. race — humankind
  16. rest — what's left
  17. tube — a container
  18. cold — an illness
  19. tube — the underground
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. cap — a hat
  22. race — the arms race
  23. rest — a break
  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