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 · chair · date · stick · pitch · cold

  1. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  10. Have you settled on a ________________?
  11. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — to attach or keep to
  2. chair — a leader
  3. date — the fruit
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. pitch — completely
  6. degree — from a university
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. chair — a professorship
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. cold — not warm
  14. degree — an amount
  15. cold — an illness
  16. degree — temperature
  17. pitch — a sales talk
  18. chair — to sit on

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