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: capital · drill · content · sharp · cold · mine · stand · press

  1. Did you ________________ the button?
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. press — to push
  2. content — the amount
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. capital — a city
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. drill — the tool
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. cold — an illness
  11. cold — not warm
  12. press — a publisher
  13. content — happy
  14. stand — to bear
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. press — newspapers
  18. mine — for digging
  19. drill — army training
  20. capital — money
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. sharp — clever
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. drill — a practice

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