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: wind · pitcher · bass · field · calf · chest · file · net

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. net — after costs
  3. field — farmland
  4. file — a document
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. bass — low music
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. net — for catching
  10. chest — of your body
  11. file — a tool
  12. chest — of your body
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. field — a subject
  15. bass — the fish
  16. chest — a box
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. field — for sport
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. net — in sport
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. wind — moving air
  24. file — a line of people

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