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: tear · capital · kick · hand · bear · wind · shower · fan

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. capital — money
  4. hand — help
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. bear — the animal
  7. shower — to wash
  8. capital — a city
  9. bear — the animal
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. bear — to put up with
  12. shower — rain
  13. kick — a thrill
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. tear — from crying
  17. capital — a big letter
  18. wind — moving air
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. tear — to rip
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. hand — in cards
  23. kick — in football
  24. wind — moving air

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