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: rash · cold · arm · sharp · scale · jam · present · field

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  20. My father caught me by the ________________.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Don't do anything ________________.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. field — for sport
  4. arm — a part of something
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. present — there
  7. jam — a tight spot
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. cold — not warm
  10. scale — size or range
  11. present — a gift
  12. sharp — clever
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. present — the time now
  15. scale — in music
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. jam — in traffic
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. rash — a series
  22. rash — hasty
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. sharp — with an edge

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