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: track · field · swing · chest · court · ball · scale · net

  1. The King held a masked ________________.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  11. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ball is in your ________________.
  23. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. net — after costs
  3. ball — a great time
  4. field — a subject
  5. swing — music
  6. chest — of your body
  7. scale — in music
  8. swing — to play on
  9. chest — of your body
  10. ball — a round shape
  11. court — of law
  12. net — in sport
  13. field — for sport
  14. court — of a king
  15. scale — size or range
  16. net — for catching
  17. field — farmland
  18. track — to keep track
  19. swing — in golf
  20. chest — a box
  21. track — a song
  22. court — for sport
  23. scale — for weighing
  24. track — a path

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