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

Word bank: row · shower · file · press · mine · rush · tear · chair

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  7. That must've been a ________________.
  8. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  9. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. Did you ________________ the button?
  13. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. tear — from crying
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. shower — rain
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. press — a publisher
  7. rush — a thrill
  8. chair — to sit on
  9. file — a document
  10. shower — to wash
  11. rush — hurry
  12. press — to push
  13. chair — a professorship
  14. file — a tool
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. tear — to rip
  17. press — newspapers
  18. row — to paddle
  19. mine — for digging
  20. row — a line
  21. tear — from crying
  22. file — a line of people
  23. chair — a leader
  24. mine — belonging to me

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