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: bear · tear · tube · press · degree · capital · plane · content

  1. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The ________________ took off on time.
  4. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  13. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. Did you ________________ the button?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. plane — an aircraft
  4. tube — in a tire
  5. tube — the underground
  6. tear — to rip
  7. capital — money
  8. bear — the animal
  9. content — happy
  10. capital — a city
  11. press — a publisher
  12. plane — in geometry
  13. degree — an amount
  14. content — the amount
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. degree — temperature
  17. bear — the animal
  18. tear — from crying
  19. tube — a container
  20. press — to push
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. degree — from a university
  23. plane — a tool
  24. press — newspapers

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