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: cold · bat · temple · wound · ruler · staff · branch · race

  1. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. When was this ________________ built?
  15. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  21. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  22. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. ruler — for measuring
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. cold — not warm
  5. ruler — a monarch
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. bat — the animal
  8. race — a contest
  9. race — humankind
  10. staff — a stick
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. wound — an injury
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. temple — a place of worship
  15. branch — a division
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. staff — employees
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. temple — side of the head
  21. ruler — for measuring
  22. staff — employees
  23. cold — an illness
  24. race — the arms race

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