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: sharp · squash · march · rash · straw · chest · lash · race

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. Don't do anything ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. lash — a whip stroke
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. race — a contest
  5. race — humankind
  6. chest — of your body
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. chest — of your body
  9. lash — an eyelash
  10. squash — the sport
  11. race — the arms race
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. rash — hasty
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. march — music
  16. squash — to crush
  17. march — the month
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. rash — a series
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. chest — a box
  22. march — the month
  23. sharp — clever
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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