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: coach · drill · vault · mine · bat · kid · cold · toast

  1. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  4. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. toast — the most admired
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. coach — pulled by horses
  4. vault — in gymnastics
  5. drill — army training
  6. vault — an arched ceiling
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. toast — bread
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. drill — a practice
  12. bat — the animal
  13. kid — child
  14. cold — not warm
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. mine — for digging
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. kid — to tease
  21. vault — a safe
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. cold — an illness
  24. drill — the tool

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