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 · wind · court · face · track · date · chest · calf

  1. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  8. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  9. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  13. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. chest — of your body
  3. wind — moving air
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. date — the fruit
  6. wind — moving air
  7. calf — a young animal
  8. track — a path
  9. face — to point toward
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. court — for sport
  12. face — part of the head
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. chest — of your body
  15. calf — of the leg
  16. court — of a king
  17. chest — a box
  18. scale — size or range
  19. scale — in music
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. track — to keep track
  22. court — of law
  23. face — to confront
  24. date — on the calendar

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