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: bark · pitcher · tear · mug · prune · fan · capital · season

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  16. Did you ________________ the meat?
  17. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. capital — a big letter
  4. tear — to rip
  5. mug — a face
  6. prune — to trim
  7. capital — a city
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. mug — a cup
  10. capital — money
  11. tear — from crying
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. bark — to shout
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. tear — from crying
  16. season — to add flavour
  17. prune — to trim
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. season — in sport
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. season — of the year
  24. mug — to rob

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