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. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  3. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. A ________________ is just a dried plum.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. scale — for weighing
  3. scale — size or range
  4. net — after costs
  5. cap — a lid
  6. cap — a hat
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. band — a ring
  10. court — of a king
  11. net — for catching
  12. rash — hasty
  13. rash — a series
  14. field — a subject
  15. prune — to trim
  16. court — for sport
  17. cap — of ice
  18. prune — to trim
  19. band — a music group
  20. field — for sport
  21. field — farmland
  22. net — in sport
  23. court — of law
  24. prune — the fruit

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