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 · scale · squash · chip · pitch · fork · cold · shower

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. I'd like to play a game of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. pitch — completely
  3. shower — to wash
  4. chip — to eat
  5. fork — in a road
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. pitch — a sports field
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. scale — size or range
  13. degree — temperature
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. cold — not warm
  16. scale — in music
  17. cold — an illness
  18. degree — an amount
  19. shower — rain
  20. chip — for betting
  21. degree — from a university
  22. squash — the vegetable
  23. squash — to crush
  24. squash — the sport

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