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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  24. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. band — a ring
  3. fine — high quality
  4. ground — crushed
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. ground — a position
  7. mate — to breed
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. kid — to tease
  10. fine — all right
  11. kid — child
  12. field — for sport
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. band — a music group
  15. field — a subject
  16. scale — size or range
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. ground — the earth
  19. game — wild animals
  20. game — a match
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. field — farmland
  23. mate — a partner
  24. mate — a friend

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