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. The water is too ________________.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  24. The train ________________ at six o'clock.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. cold — an illness
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. field — for sport
  5. file — a line of people
  6. deal — a big deal
  7. scale — size or range
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. deal — to handle
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. file — a tool
  12. deal — an agreement
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. scale — in music
  15. field — farmland
  16. field — a subject
  17. fork — in a road
  18. leaves — lets stay
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. leaves — of a tree
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. file — a document
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. leaves — to go away

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