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: scale · cold · bass · rash · track · pass · squash · wind

  1. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. track — to keep track
  3. pass — a permit
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. rash — hasty
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. scale — in music
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. bass — the fish
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. cold — an illness
  18. cold — not warm
  19. rash — a series
  20. scale — size or range
  21. track — a song
  22. bass — low music
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. track — a path

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