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: capital · mouse · bat · chair · tear · shower

  1. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  7. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. shower — to wash
  3. tear — from crying
  4. capital — money
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. capital — a city
  7. tear — to rip
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. chair — a leader
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. shower — rain
  15. mouse — for a computer
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. bat — the animal
  18. shower — a meteor shower

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