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: march · rash · track · cold · fall · current · nail · file

  1. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. The ________________ went through the wall.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  21. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — on the skin
  2. track — to keep track
  3. track — a path
  4. cold — not warm
  5. fall — to drop
  6. track — a song
  7. file — a tool
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. rash — a series
  10. march — the month
  11. fall — the season
  12. rash — hasty
  13. march — the month
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. march — music
  16. current — happening now
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. file — a line of people
  19. current — electric
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. fall — to drop
  22. file — a document
  23. current — of water
  24. cold — an illness

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