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 · season · current · pound · degree · bat · wind

  1. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. Did you ________________ the meat?
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — an amount
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. face — to confront
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. face — part of the head
  6. current — electric
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. degree — from a university
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. wind — moving air
  13. wind — moving air
  14. face — to point toward
  15. current — happening now
  16. current — of water
  17. pound — a weight
  18. degree — temperature
  19. bat — the animal
  20. season — in sport
  21. season — to add flavour
  22. rash — a series
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. season — of the year

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