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 · pitch · row · chip · date · tube · cold · present

  1. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  8. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I'll be taking the ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  15. Have you settled on a ________________?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  21. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  22. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  23. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  24. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — in a tire
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. degree — from a university
  4. pitch — completely
  5. present — a gift
  6. chip — to eat
  7. present — the time now
  8. pitch — a sports field
  9. cold — an illness
  10. present — there
  11. chip — for betting
  12. tube — the underground
  13. cold — not warm
  14. degree — an amount
  15. date — on the calendar
  16. row — to paddle
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. row — a line
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. date — the fruit
  21. degree — temperature
  22. tube — a container
  23. chip — in a computer
  24. pitch — a sales talk

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