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: arm · plane · vault · pitcher · mate · ground · cold · snap

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  9. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. Have you found your soul ________________?
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  23. The ________________ took off on time.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. mate — a friend
  4. ground — a position
  5. cold — not warm
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. snap — to click
  8. vault — a safe
  9. vault — an arched ceiling
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. mate — a partner
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. plane — a tool
  16. mate — to breed
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. ground — the earth
  19. ground — crushed
  20. snap — to snap out of it
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. vault — in gymnastics
  23. plane — an aircraft
  24. plane — in geometry

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