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 120 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: rash · face · ground · straw · temple · bat · stock · race

  1. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  13. The ________________ market has crashed.
  14. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  15. When was this ________________ built?
  16. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. There's no middle ________________.
  19. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  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. temple — a place of worship
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. rash — hasty
  7. ground — the earth
  8. bat — the animal
  9. race — humankind
  10. race — a contest
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. face — to confront
  13. stock — shares
  14. straw — to clutch at straws
  15. temple — a place of worship
  16. temple — side of the head
  17. face — to point toward
  18. ground — a position
  19. ground — crushed
  20. rash — a series
  21. face — part of the head
  22. stock — goods
  23. stock — a soup base
  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