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 120 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: craft · pitch · rock · row · ball · wound · cold · file

  1. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. The King held a masked ________________.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. rock — a stone
  3. ball — a great time
  4. pitch — a sports field
  5. row — to paddle
  6. ball — a dance
  7. row — a line
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rock — music
  10. file — a line of people
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. cold — not warm
  13. ball — a round shape
  14. cold — an illness
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. craft — boats
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. wound — an injury
  19. file — a document
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. pitch — completely
  24. craft — a skill

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