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 120 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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. False peace will not ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Did you ________________ the button?
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. tear — from crying
  3. tear — from crying
  4. press — a publisher
  5. band — a music group
  6. last — to go on
  7. file — a document
  8. cap — of ice
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. band — a ring
  11. press — to push
  12. last — finally
  13. press — newspapers
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. tear — to rip
  16. cap — a hat
  17. squash — the sport
  18. file — a tool
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. cap — a lid
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. last — final
  23. file — a line of people
  24. band — a rubber band

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