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: kick · patient · cold · degree · racket · shower

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  8. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. shower — a meteor shower
  3. degree — temperature
  4. patient — calm and waiting
  5. cold — not warm
  6. degree — from a university
  7. kick — in football
  8. cold — the Cold War
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. kick — with a leg
  13. cold — an illness
  14. shower — rain
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. shower — to wash
  17. kick — a thrill
  18. patient — a sick person

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