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: face · shower · straw · saw · season · degree · lash · patient

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  11. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  19. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. degree — temperature
  3. saw — the tool
  4. degree — from a university
  5. face — part of the head
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. season — in sport
  9. face — to confront
  10. saw — past of 'see'
  11. patient — a sick person
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. lash — to lash out
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. face — to point toward
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. shower — a meteor shower
  19. patient — calm and waiting
  20. season — of the year
  21. saw — the tool
  22. shower — to wash
  23. degree — an amount
  24. shower — rain

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