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: prune · wave · content · bark · hide · squash · cold · key

  1. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  2. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  3. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  16. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hide — to keep secret
  2. key — for a lock
  3. wave — a sudden rise
  4. key — the most important part
  5. bark — a dog's sound
  6. content — happy
  7. cold — an illness
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. squash — to crush
  11. prune — to trim
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. bark — to shout
  14. prune — to trim
  15. wave — with your hand
  16. squash — the sport
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. content — the amount
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. key — in music
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. cold — not warm

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