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: fan · court · spell · bay · tear · bat · capital · bark

  1. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  2. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. The ball is in your ________________.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  11. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  12. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. How do you ________________ your surname?
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — magic
  2. bark — to shout
  3. tear — from crying
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. court — for sport
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. tear — to rip
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. fan — to cool the air
  11. capital — a city
  12. capital — money
  13. tear — from crying
  14. spell — a short time
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. spell — letters
  17. court — of a king
  18. bay — a part of the sea
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. court — of law
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. bat — the animal

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