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

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  6. How do you ________________ your surname?
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. This piece is in a major ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. rash — hasty
  5. key — for a lock
  6. spell — letters
  7. spell — a short time
  8. key — in music
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. spell — magic
  11. key — the most important part
  12. bat — the animal
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. bark — to shout
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. rash — a series
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. bat — for baseball

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