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: file · scale · last · wind · straw · field · cold · racket

  1. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a line of people
  2. field — a subject
  3. scale — in music
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. scale — size or range
  6. cold — not warm
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. field — for sport
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. last — to go on
  11. file — a document
  12. last — finally
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — an illness
  16. last — final
  17. file — a tool
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. field — farmland
  20. wind — moving air
  21. wind — moving air
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. scale — for weighing

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