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: cold · vault · root · last · branch · bat · bore · cabinet

  1. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  2. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  5. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. What do you think of the new ________________?
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  23. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — gave birth
  2. bore — to tire
  3. bore — to drill
  4. cabinet — a cupboard
  5. vault — an arched ceiling
  6. last — final
  7. vault — in gymnastics
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. last — finally
  11. root — of a plant
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. root — of a word
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. bat — the animal
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. vault — a safe
  21. last — to go on
  22. cabinet — ministers
  23. root — the cause
  24. branch — a division

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