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: cold · plane · bound · mine · racket · press · file · capital

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  7. That was ________________ to happen.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. press — a publisher
  3. mine — for digging
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. plane — a tool
  7. bound — certain
  8. cold — an illness
  9. capital — a city
  10. bound — obliged
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. racket — for tennis
  13. file — a document
  14. press — to push
  15. plane — in geometry
  16. bound — tied together
  17. file — a line of people
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. capital — money
  20. file — a tool
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. press — newspapers
  23. capital — a big letter
  24. plane — an aircraft

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