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: racket · kick · spell · fan · pound · tear · capital · field

  1. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  2. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  9. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. Can you turn the ________________ on?

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. field — a subject
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. capital — a city
  6. field — for sport
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. pound — for dogs
  9. spell — a short time
  10. pound — a weight
  11. tear — to rip
  12. tear — from crying
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. spell — magic
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. kick — in football
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. capital — money
  19. field — farmland
  20. kick — with a leg
  21. spell — letters
  22. tear — from crying
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. fan — to cool the 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