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 120 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 · scale · hide · shower · bound · chest · file · bass

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. That was ________________ to happen.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bound — certain
  3. file — a tool
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. march — music
  7. bass — low music
  8. march — the month
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — rain
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. scale — in music
  14. file — a document
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. march — the month
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. file — a line of people
  20. scale — for weighing
  21. bound — obliged
  22. scale — size or range
  23. bound — tied together
  24. chest — of your body

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