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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  2. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  12. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. race — a contest
  2. straw — to clutch at straws
  3. dip — a sauce
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. cold — not warm
  6. race — humankind
  7. squash — to crush
  8. kick — with a leg
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. dip — to dunk
  12. squash — the sport
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. race — the arms race
  16. cold — an illness
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. dip — to sink
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. kick — in football
  24. branch — a division

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