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 · trunk · capital · sharp · field · rash · track

  1. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  2. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  5. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  6. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. It's one o'clock ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. field — for sport
  2. field — a subject
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. capital — a big letter
  5. track — a song
  6. trunk — of a tree
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. capital — a city
  9. rash — a series
  10. track — a path
  11. scale — size or range
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. capital — money
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. cold — an illness
  16. track — to keep track
  17. rash — hasty
  18. sharp — exactly
  19. field — farmland
  20. scale — in music
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. sharp — clever
  23. cold — not warm
  24. cold — the Cold War

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