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 · straw · kid · pitcher · last · branch · field · face

  1. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. He is an ace ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.

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

Answer key

  1. branch — a division
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. pitcher — in baseball
  4. face — to point toward
  5. last — finally
  6. field — for sport
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. last — to go on
  9. scale — size or range
  10. scale — in music
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. kid — to tease
  14. face — to confront
  15. field — farmland
  16. face — part of the head
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. field — a subject
  22. kid — child
  23. last — final
  24. kid — young goat (kid gloves)

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