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: kid · clip · vault · hide · cold · deal · cell · capital

  1. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  4. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — animal skin
  2. cold — an illness
  3. deal — to handle
  4. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  5. vault — a safe
  6. cell — a phone
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. vault — an arched ceiling
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. cold — not warm
  11. capital — a city
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. capital — money
  14. clip — to cut
  15. clip — for paper
  16. clip — a video
  17. vault — in gymnastics
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. hide — to keep secret
  21. kid — to tease
  22. kid — child
  23. cell — in biology
  24. deal — an agreement

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