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: degree · straw · dip · face · cold · cap · scale · race

  1. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  9. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. She had a strange look on her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — in music
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. degree — temperature
  4. cap — a lid
  5. degree — an amount
  6. race — a contest
  7. cold — an illness
  8. degree — from a university
  9. dip — to sink
  10. cap — of ice
  11. face — to confront
  12. face — to point toward
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. cold — not warm
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. scale — size or range
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. race — the arms race
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. race — humankind
  23. cap — a hat
  24. face — part of the head

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