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: press · race · wake · tear · wound · mine

  1. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  5. Did you ________________ the button?
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — to rip
  2. tear — from crying
  3. mine — for digging
  4. race — a contest
  5. press — to push
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. wound — an injury
  8. wound — an injury
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. race — the arms race
  11. race — humankind
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. press — newspapers
  14. wake — a trail
  15. press — a publisher
  16. wake — before a funeral
  17. tear — from crying
  18. mine — an explosive

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