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 116 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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  8. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  22. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  23. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  24. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — low music
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. scale — in music
  5. patient — a sick person
  6. bass — the fish
  7. degree — an amount
  8. bank — of a river
  9. degree — from a university
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. scale — size or range
  12. patient — calm and waiting
  13. cold — an illness
  14. ball — a round shape
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bank — for money
  17. ball — a great time
  18. field — a subject
  19. field — farmland
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bank — for money
  22. degree — temperature
  23. patient — a sick person
  24. field — for sport

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