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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.

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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
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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  18. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. scale — size or range
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. season — in sport
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. cold — an illness
  8. land — to come down
  9. bark — of a tree
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. squash — to crush
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. land — a country
  15. cold — not warm
  16. season — of the year
  17. mouse — the animal
  18. squash — the vegetable
  19. bark — to shout
  20. squash — the sport
  21. land — ground
  22. scale — in music
  23. lash — an eyelash
  24. cold — the Cold War

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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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