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: degree · chest · wind · scale · file · straw

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. scale — in music
  3. chest — of your body
  4. wind — moving air
  5. degree — an amount
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. file — a tool
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. degree — from a university
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. scale — size or range
  13. file — a document
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wind — moving air
  16. file — a line of people
  17. degree — temperature
  18. straw — a straw man

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