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 116 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: degree · pitch · mine · stick · shower · capital · tear · cap

  1. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  2. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  9. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. degree — from a university
  2. tear — to rip
  3. tear — from crying
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. mine — for digging
  8. degree — an amount
  9. pitch — completely
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. tear — from crying
  12. capital — a city
  13. degree — temperature
  14. capital — money
  15. cap — of ice
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. shower — to wash
  19. cap — a lid
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. pitch — a sports field
  22. cap — a hat
  23. pitch — a sales talk
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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