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: racket · roll · rest · tear · clip · scale · ground · file

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. We're on a ________________ here.
  21. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  22. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. ground — crushed
  4. tear — from crying
  5. tear — to rip
  6. scale — size or range
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. rest — what's left
  9. clip — for paper
  10. rest — a break
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. file — a line of people
  13. ground — a position
  14. file — a document
  15. ground — the earth
  16. file — a tool
  17. clip — a video
  18. roll — a list
  19. tear — from crying
  20. roll — on a roll
  21. clip — to cut
  22. roll — a cake
  23. rest — what's left
  24. scale — in music

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