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 · bark · rest · racket · sharp · cabinet · prune · content

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. prune — to trim
  4. rest — a break
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cold — not warm
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. rest — what's left
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. sharp — clever
  15. content — happy
  16. prune — to trim
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. cold — an illness
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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