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: field · bank · press · season · spring · cold · lie · arm

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. Did you ________________ the button?
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. season — in sport
  3. press — to push
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. cold — not warm
  8. bank — for money
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. press — a publisher
  11. field — a subject
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. field — farmland
  14. bank — for money
  15. press — newspapers
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. spring — the season
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. season — of the year
  22. field — for sport
  23. bank — of a river
  24. lie — to recline

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